Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory & Discovery Learning


Skinner’s Operant Conditioning 

Skinner is regarded as the father of Operant Conditioning, but his work was based on Thorndike’s (1898) law of effect. It is on the matter of behavioral conditioning (not then formulated as such) which states that "Behavior that is followed by positive consequences is likely to be repeated, and behavior followed by unpleasant consequences is less likely to be repeated".


Operant conditioning is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behavior. Through operant conditioning, an individual makes an association between a particular behavior and a consequence (Skinner, 1938).




Skinner identified three types of responses, or operant, that can follow behavior.
• Neutral operants: responses from the environment that neither increase nor decrease the probability of a behavior being repeated.
• Reinforcers: Responses from the environment that increase the probability of a behavior being repeated. Reinforcers can be either positive or negative.
• Punishers: Responses from the environment that decrease the likelihood of a behavior being repeated. Punishment weakens behavior.

·        Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement strengthens a behavior by providing a consequence an individual finds rewarding. Skinner showed how positive reinforcement worked by placing a hungry rat in his Skinner box. The box contained a lever on the side, and as the rat moved about the box, it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so a food pellet would drop into a container next to the lever.

·        Negative Reinforcement

The removal of an unpleasant reinforcer can also strengthen behavior. This is known as negative reinforcement because it is the removal of an adverse stimulus which is ‘rewarding’ to the animal or person. Negative reinforcement strengthens behavior because it stops or removes an unpleasant experience.
Skinner showed how negative reinforcement worked by placing a rat in his Skinner box and then subjecting it to an unpleasant electric current which caused it some discomfort. As the rat moved about the box it would accidentally knock the lever. Immediately it did so the electric current would be switched off. The rats quickly learned to go straight to the lever after a few times of being put in the box. The consequence of escaping the electric current ensured that they would repeat the action again and again.

 Discovery Learning

Discovery Learning is a technique of inquiry-based learning and is considered a constructivist based approach to education.

Jerome Bruner is an American psychologist educator, a learning theorist and he is associated with ‘Discovery learning’ and ‘constructivism’
Last week I gave a detailed explanation about Bruner and in this post I will talk about Discovery Learning.

The 5 Principles of Discovery Learning Model

The Discovery Learning Model has 5 principles:
1.    Problem Solving.
Instructors should guide and motivate learners to seek for solutions by combining existing and newly acquired information and simplifying knowledge.
2.   Learner Management.
Instructors should allow participants to work either alone or with others, and learn at their own pace.
3.   Integrating and Connecting.
Instructors should teach learners how to combine prior knowledge with new, and encourage them to connect to the real world.
4.   Information Analysis and Interpretation.
Discovery learning is process-oriented and not content-oriented, and is based on the assumption that learning is not a mere set of facts.
5.   Failure and Feedback.
Learning doesn’t only occur when we find the right answers. It also occurs through failure. Discovery learning does not focus on finding the right end result, but the new things we discover in the process.
The Discovery Learning Model Techniques
The discovery learning educational sessions should be well-designed, highly experiential and interactive. Instructors should use stories, games, visual aids and other attention-grabbing techniques that will build curiosity and interest, and lead learners in new ways of thinking, acting and reflecting.
The techniques utilized in Discovery Learning can vary, but the goal is always the same, and that is the learners to reach the end result on their own. By exploring and manipulating situations, struggling with questions and controversies, or by performing experiments, learners are more likely to remember concepts and newly acquired knowledge.

(Retrieved from http://internettime.com/itimegroup/elearning/learning.htm, April 28, 2020) 
References

Association for Experiential Education (2009, Nov 30). Retrieved from http://www.aee.org/about/whatIsEE

Hoorn, J. V., Nourot, P. M., Scales, B. & Alward, K. R. (1999). Play at the center of the curriculum. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merrill.

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