Week 7: Behavioral Learning Theory: Operant Conditioning

The question for this week is: Looking at both positive (PR) and negative reinforcement (NR), think about how you remember these being used when you were going to school. Write those examples down.

I don’t remember much about my time in school. I do remember being in kindergarten and on my birthday, I decided not to do my school work as I should have. So I had to miss my recess time and stay inside to complete my work again. I remember my teacher being very disappointed in me, and letting me know that she knew that I had not done my best work and that she was disappointed in my rushing, but she still cared about me and because of that, she was having me redo it. Having her approval meant a lot to me, and because I didn’t want to disappoint her again, I never rushed through and I always did my best.

How will you use positive and negative reinforcement in your "classroom" when you become a teacher? Give examples of PR and NR as related to your "classroom" in the future - relate these examples to concepts that you can remember.

Positive reinforcement will be a large part of my classroom. I do like the use of food for positive reinforcement, as this encourages eating when not hungry. I would use more items such as stickers, or buttons, or “money” as rewards, as well as praise. After a certain amount of time, they would be able to use those stickers, etc. to “purchase” items (such as from the dollar store) and occasionally, maybe through in a pass of some sort, such as a free period to read or use the computer. Negative reinforcement I will have to think about.


A summary of what you have learned from the chapter readings.


This was an interesting chapter, as each of them have been thus far. But this one really intrigued me. The topic this week was operant conditioning, which is a voluntary response that is strengthened or weakened by consequences that follow an action. This theory is from B. F. Skinner. He thinks that many of the voluntary responses of animals and humans are strengthened when they are reinforced or weakened when they are ignored or punished (p. 221 of the text). Skinner believed that psychology was a natural science. I learned the difference between Positive reinforcement (PR), Negative Reinforcement (NR), and punishment. Positive reinforcement strengthens a target behavior by presenting a positive reinforcer after the behavior occurs. Positive does not mean pleasant, it means to add a stimulus. An example would be, someone who completes their assignment on time would get a sticker. Negative reinforcement is strengthening a target behavior by removing an “aversive stimulus” after the behavior occurs. An example the book gives is a child picks up his toys to stop his parents’ nagging. I love that example. Punishment is weakening a target behavior by presenting an aversive stimulus after the behavior occurs. There are three types of punishment. Type I or presentation punishment is presenting an aversive stimulus such as scolding or paddling. Type II or removal punishment is removing a positive enforcer after the behavior occurs. An example is time-out. A third is called extinction, and is when a previously reinforced behavior decreases in frequency and eventual stops altogether. Example I love is a mom ignoring a whining child.

Compare what you have learned from the reading with what you have experienced in life so far.

A life experience is my seven year old son talking like a baby or whining. I told him that I do not understand baby talk and will ignore him until he talks correctly.

Describe how keeping this journal has helped you organize any ideas for teaching; come up with new ideas; etc.


The deeper we get into this class, the more ideas I am finding. This class is not only preparing me for my classroom, but helping me understand my children as well. Understanding the different kinds of reinforcements was an eye opener in a sense, as I have struggled with keeping positive reinforcement the primary approach.

A summary about the education blog that you have chosen.


There are a few things that popped out at me this week on my educational blog. The first was his mentioning the new U.S. Citizenship exam. He asked how we thought our students would do on this new exam. Well, I personally feel that we need to have our students take this exam, maybe in the high school grades. There is so much on there that I know I don’t know. I think I will take it myself to see where I stand. The second thing that popped out was an article, Teachers to Curriculum Creators: Give Us the Real World.
He mentioned that a percentage of the teachers wanted more real world connections in their curriculum. I would have to agree. Many people wonder why they need a particular subject, and with real world connections, they would see why they need it. I am really enjoying reading this blog. He brings a lot of technology to his classroom ideas and really makes us think.