Operant and classical conditioning in practice

Operant and Classical Conditioning

The fundamental difference between operant and classical conditioning is the sequence of behavioral influence. In classical conditioning, for example, the stimulus is provided to encourage subsequent behavior. In operant conditioning, behavior is influenced by its direct consequences (Kobayashi, Schultz, and Sakagami, 2010). Behavior analysts have debated for decades regarding the nature of environmental influences on behavior. Some favor the genetic influence on behavior as overriding environmental concerns, while others hold that environmental influence is undeniable (Hergenhahn and Olson, 2010). In the teaching profession, one must necessarily assume at least some environmental influence. Without this, the learning process would be impossible. In an observed class of young adults, for example, the successful outcome of a writing instruction was dependent upon operant conditioning, where the consequences of the students' actions resulted in their eventual success.

The specific observation classroom consisted of 20 ESL students ranging in age from 19 -- 21 years of age. They were given a writing instruction, to write an essay according to a certain format. The standard five-paragraph essay format was used. The teacher explained the format thoroughly, without warning students of any consequences should the instruction not be followed correctly. The first result was that about half of the students (9 total) followed the instructions correctly, while the rest (11) failed to comply. Common failures included the incorrect number of paragraphs, lack of topic sentences, lack of thesis statement, and lack of proper content focus for each paragraph.

The consequences for the complying students were a high mark for each section of the work, while the consequences for those who did not fully comply were a lower, or even a failing mark. Students were given feedback after receiving their results. The teacher explained again the premise of the essay and how it should be successfully completed. Students who achieved below a certain result were allowed to resubmit their work. The result was numerically similar. About half of the second group of students (6 total) showed significant improvement, with the rest (5) showing either minimal or no improvement. From the perspective of effective teaching, it is desirable that each student should show significant improvement at least after the second effort. To change the conditions for the improvement of behavior, it is necessary to determine the fundamental cause for the failure of the remaining five students.

While it is viable that the students who struggle are hampered by a genetic propensity towards more manual than intellectual tasks, it is also possible to trigger the desirable behavior by ensuring an understanding of the tasks. Being ESL students, it might be assumed that not all students would share the same proficiency in the English language. Because the instructions were provided in English, it is possible that not all students understood what was expected, and hence received undesirable results. To achieve better results, strategies could therefore be devised to ensure that all students understand the instructions provided.

One way to do this is to encourage students to ask for help. Students who received undesirable results after their second attempt, therefore, were divided into groups where the first and second groups, who eventually achieved success, provided clarification of the instructions. This ensured peer education, where the learners were able to encourage and help each other. Each group was given the opportunity to submit one essay in which they all participated. The outcomes for these essays were consistently desirable. The final group, therefore, received direct peer instruction and could learn exactly what was meant by the instructions.

As a final strategy, a new essay topic was given to individual students, with the same basic format and premise. This resulted in undesirable results for only three students. On resubmission, these students also improved significantly.

The conditioning in the above example, as in most teaching situations, therefore occurred by design. First, desirable results primarily constitute a high mark. Secondarily, a desirable outcome is the effort level resulting from high grades at the start. Following instructions accurately therefore resulted in a high grade and a lower effort level, in terms of not having to resubmit essays once or twice.

The teacher herself then also was able to change her actions in order to achieve the desired results from students. This is a fundamentally scientific method inherent in the behavioral sciences. The teacher observes a certain condition and outcome and modifies her actions according to the results achieved and the possible results hypothesized. This is a typically scientific method of going about practical research, particularly in the behavioral and learning sciences.