A city clerk's FOIA log is almost right: dates and requestor fields are complete, but the disposition field is blank. How should the instructor reinforce the work?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
A nearly-right FOIA log is a sandwich missing the pickle — most of it is good, one piece is gone. Say what was logged right first so that behavior sticks, then point at the blank disposition. All-or-nothing red ink trains people to hide work, not to finish it.
Full Explanation
When a city clerk's FOIA log is almost right—dates and requestor fields complete but disposition blank—the instructor should name the fields logged correctly, then identify the missing disposition field so the right behavior is strengthened. Effective reinforcement credits accurate municipal work even when the product is incomplete, then targets the gap without erasing what already met standard. Marking the entire log wrong fails the differential-reinforcement concept by punishing correct entries along with the miss and teaching clerks to hide partial work. Ignoring the blank while praising only effort fails the accuracy concept: effort praise without naming the missing required field does not shape the complete log the city needs. Throwing the log out and restarting with no comment on what was right fails both efficiency and reinforcement: it discards evidence of correct behavior and withholds the specific cue that would finish the record. Exam caveat: strengthen what was correct, then cue the single miss; all-or-nothing red ink is not sophisticated evaluation or motivation. Operational check: point to completed date and requestor fields as meeting standard, require the disposition entry next, and re-check that the FOIA log is complete before moving on.