How can operant conditioning be applied in the classroom

What would be a good reinforcement for humans? For your daughter Sydney, it was the promise of a toy if she cleaned her room. How about Joaquin, the soccer player? If you gave Joaquin a piece of candy every time he made a goal, you would be using a primary reinforcer. Primary reinforcers are reinforcers that have innate reinforcing qualities. These kinds of reinforcers are not learned.

Water, food, sleep, shelter, sex, and touch, among others, are primary reinforcers. Pleasure is also a primary reinforcer. Organisms do not lose their drive for these things. For most people, jumping in a cool lake on a very hot day would be reinforcing and the cool lake would be innately reinforcing—the water would cool the person off a physical need , as well as provide pleasure. A secondary reinforcer has no inherent value and only has reinforcing qualities when linked with a primary reinforcer.

Another example, money, is only worth something when you can use it to buy other things—either things that satisfy basic needs food, water, shelter—all primary reinforcers or other secondary reinforcers. If you were on a remote island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and you had stacks of money, the money would not be useful if you could not spend it. What about the stickers on the behavior chart? They also are secondary reinforcers. Sometimes, instead of stickers on a sticker chart, a token is used.

Tokens, which are also secondary reinforcers, can then be traded in for rewards and prizes. Entire behavior management systems, known as token economies, are built around the use of these kinds of token reinforcers. Token economies have been found to be very effective at modifying behavior in a variety of settings such as schools, prisons, and mental hospitals. For example, a study by Cangi and Daly found that use of a token economy increased appropriate social behaviors and reduced inappropriate behaviors in a group of autistic school children.

Autistic children tend to exhibit disruptive behaviors such as pinching and hitting. When they hit or pinched, they lost a token. The children could then exchange specified amounts of tokens for minutes of playtime.

Behavior modification uses the principles of operant conditioning to accomplish behavior change so that undesirable behaviors are switched for more socially acceptable ones. Some teachers and parents create a sticker chart, in which several behaviors are listed Figure 2. Sticker charts are a form of token economies, as described in the text.

Each time children perform the behavior, they get a sticker, and after a certain number of stickers, they get a prize, or reinforcer. The goal is to increase acceptable behaviors and decrease misbehavior. Remember, it is best to reinforce desired behaviors, rather than to use punishment.

In the classroom, the teacher can reinforce a wide range of behaviors, from students raising their hands, to walking quietly in the hall, to turning in their homework. At home, parents might create a behavior chart that rewards children for things such as putting away toys, brushing their teeth, and helping with dinner.

In order for behavior modification to be effective, the reinforcement needs to be connected with the behavior; the reinforcement must matter to the child and be done consistently. Figure 2. Sticker charts are a form of positive reinforcement and a tool for behavior modification.

Once this little girl earns a certain number of stickers for demonstrating a desired behavior, she will be rewarded with a trip to the ice cream parlor. Time-out is another popular technique used in behavior modification with children. It operates on the principle of negative punishment.

When a child demonstrates an undesirable behavior, she is removed from the desirable activity at hand Figure 3. For example, say that Sophia and her brother Mario are playing with building blocks. Sophia throws some blocks at her brother, so you give her a warning that she will go to time-out if she does it again. A few minutes later, she throws more blocks at Mario.

You remove Sophia from the room for a few minutes. There are several important points that you should know if you plan to implement time-out as a behavior modification technique. First, make sure the child is being removed from a desirable activity and placed in a less desirable location.

If the activity is something undesirable for the child, this technique will backfire because it is more enjoyable for the child to be removed from the activity. Second, the length of the time-out is important. Sophia is five; therefore, she sits in a time-out for five minutes. Setting a timer helps children know how long they have to sit in time-out. Finally, as a caregiver, keep several guidelines in mind over the course of a time-out: remain calm when directing your child to time-out; ignore your child during a time-out because caregiver attention may reinforce misbehavior , and give the child a hug or a kind word when time-out is over.

Figure 3. Time-out is a popular form of negative punishment used by caregivers. When a child misbehaves, he or she is removed from a desirable activity in an effort to decrease the unwanted behavior.

For example, a a child might be playing on the playground with friends and push another child; b the child who misbehaved would then be removed from the activity for a short period of time. Privacy Policy. By building operant conditioning techniques into lesson plans, it is easily possible to teach children useful skills - as well as good behaviors.

By using symbols like smiley faces, 'Good Work' stamps, stickers, and even simple ticks when a child does something correctly, you are encouraging them to repeat such satisfying work again further down the line. You could even use this type of reinforcement when teaching a student something totally new, like how to spell a particular word. When they do it correctly, you can administer praise to ingrain the message that they've done it right.

By doing the opposite when they don't get it exactly correct, you can tempt them away from doing it this way in the future. In effect, the process is all about nurturing the student and aiding them in their development. With a good attitude and positive approach, it really can be done.

Your Email Address. The punished student will be less likely to repeat the behavior as well, though outside factors may come into play. Using operant conditioning in the classroom can be part of a sound classroom management strategy. However, relying too heavily on operant conditioning alone has its drawbacks. Operant conditioning in education relies on extrinsic motivation, or factors outside the students themselves used to motivate behaviors. The downside to extrinsic motivation is that it is less permanent than intrinsic motivation, or motivation that comes from inside the self.

Intrinsic motivation exists without the presence of external motivating factors. But when extrinsic motivations are relied on too heavily, when those motivating factors are removed, the behaviors they shaped are more likely to decrease or disappear as well. Effective classroom management techniques use a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivating factors.

Teachers can incorporate operant conditioning with other strategies for a more holistic approach.