Middle schools Essay

There are some types of conditioning that are employed in middle schools and high school settings. Take for example when the teachers enter the classroom, students are â€Å"conditioned† to react in certain ways. Thus, this depends on what they are used to and how teachers will treat such type of behaviors. The initial reaction of the students is referred to as the ‘baseline behavior’ (Honolulu Zoo Organization, 2009). Before any type of conditioning is applied, this behavior should be observed and recorded. In a classical conditioning, there is a large dependence on the association of a stimulus to a response and has involuntary reactions (Comparison of Classical and Operant Conditioning, 2009). In a classroom setting, classical conditioning can also be applied. Say, students love their music class and that they love to sing. Thus, before each music class, the teacher would play a song. Thus, when the students hear the music, they may start to sing or hum to the tune of the music. This increases their awareness that music class will be next. Then, shaping is applied where a series of actions are equated to a series of reactions. This defines the difference between the baseline and terminal behavior. For an operant conditioning, the most notable feature is the ‘reinforcement’ and that the reactions are voluntary (Comparison of Classical and Operant Conditioning, 2009). Say when one teacher enters the classroom, the students to stand up and greet by applause. This may be construed by the teacher as the good behavior and, thus, the teacher may give a reward for each student when the students stand and applaud. Say, the reward is a candy bar, which now serves as the positive reinforcement. Consequently, without the â€Å"stand and applaud response,† the candy bar is withheld and students are forced to stand, thus a negative reinforcement. When this is done in an every â€Å"stand and applaud reaction† response basis, thus, continuous reinforcement is applied. Within the shaping, reinforcements may vary. The reinforcement may be done in random, meaning candy bar is not given every time the stand and applaud reaction is done by student, which is called variable reinforcement. If in case the teacher gives more candy bars for a louder applause, then this is now referred to as the selective reinforcement with the aim of increasing performance. Another schedule of reinforcement is the bonus wherein the students may receive more candy bars than the usual as a surprise. The terminal behavior is the behavior after the ‘shaping’ is applied. In this example, the students’ action of standing and applauding every time the same teacher enters the classroom is the terminal behavior after the shaping including the reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is if students fail to stand and applaud or if they just sit instead of stand, the candy bar is then withheld, thus, the students will go back to the stand and applaud response for the candy bar. Negative reinforcement then pushes that the students do something for their benefit. Punishment, on the other hand, is when the students stand and applaud and then they are all sent to the principal’s office, which weakens the ‘enthusiasm’ for stand and applause behavior. Then, if the candy bar is removed after the ‘stand and applaud reaction’, thus, the reaction is no longer encouraged and this is then called the extinction. Reward is a very powerful tool for students and the proper use of it should be understood before it is utilized by the members of the academe. In the same manner, rewards can make or break students’ habits and behavior. This could be dangerous since there is a tendency of students lacking the initiative to work without the reward. This may keep students from doing their best since there is no visible gain for better performance in school. On the other hand, this may also be very helpful in stirring movements for students towards positive actions and better performance. This may be an extra boost on their determination to achieve more in their activities. Reference: Comparison of Classical and Operant Conditioning. (2009). The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 26, 2009 from http://www. dushkin. com/connectext/psy/ch06/compare. mhtml Honolulu Zoo Organization. (2009). Operant Conditioning Terms. Retrieved March 26, 2009 from http://www. honoluluzoo. org/enrichment_operant_cond_terms. htm