Theory based on task: 

The task aligns with B.F. Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory by using positive reinforcement and competition styles to shape behavior and motivate students. Below is a detailed explanation of how the task connects to Skinner’s principles and concepts:

1. Theory Connection: Positive reinforcement involves introducing a desirable stimulus to encourage the repetition of a behavior.
Task Application:

• On Day 2, students were rewarded with sweets or chocolates every time they beat their own scores. This reinforcement made the students more likely to improve their performance during the task.
  

• A link between effort and positive outcomes was created by the reward system, which skinner emphasised as critical to reinforcing behaviour.
  

• The excitement of choosing their favorite sweet further personalized the reinforcement, increasing its effectiveness. For instance, the student who mentioned "Rolla Belta" as a favorite sweet demonstrates the importance of tailoring rewards to individual preferences.
  

2. Theory Connection: Negative reinforcement involves the removal of an undesirable stimulus to strengthen behavior.
Task Application:

• By shifting the competition from a peer-focused dynamic on Day 1 to a self-focused dynamic on Day 2, the social pressure (an undesirable stimulus) was removed. This change reduced feelings of failure and allowed students to just focus on their improvement.
  

• Students reported feeling "less pressure" and "more confident" when they were no longer compared to their friends, which aligns with the concept of eliminating stressors that effect performance.
  

3. Theory Connection: Extinction occurs when a behavior diminishes because reinforcement is withheld.
Task Application:

• On Day 1, there was no clear reward system for the competition, leading to a lack of engagement and motivation. Students reported feeling unmotivated and even requested their scores be written without retrying.
  

• This suggests that without reinforcement, the competitive behavior extinguished quickly, consistent with Skinner’s theory.

4. Theory Connection: Shaping involves reinforcing successive approximations of the desired behavior, guiding learners step by step.
Task Application:

• Students were given a specific, measurable improvement goal (e.g., beat their score by 2 reps or 20 seconds). This challenge created a clear pathway for success while making goals achievable, a key aspect of shaping.
  

• Each small success was immediately rewarded, reinforcing the process of improvement.
  

5. Theory Connection: Skinner highlighted the importance of tailoring reinforcement to individual needs and circumstances.
Task Application:

• On Day 2, students competed against their own prior scores rather than each other. This individualized approach allowed students to focus on personal improvement rather than comparing themselves to others, which some students found demotivating on Day 1.
  

• Allowing them to approach tasks their own way and time, led to increased engagement and a sense of ownership over their progress.
  

6. Theory Connection: Reinforcement must be consistent and immediate to maintain behavior. Allowing behaviour to remain longer.

 Task Application:

• Immediate rewards (sweets or chocolates) sustained the students’ motivation throughout the session.
  

• The excitement of receiving the reward after each success drove students to repeat the tasks enthusiastically, with some running back to retry tasks after earning their treat.
  

7. Theory Connection: Operant conditioning thrives when the environment minimizes punishments or adverse effects of comparisons, which can act as negative stimuli.
Task Application:

• On Day 1, the peer-to-peer competition created feelings of inadequacy and failure for some students. Without rewards or encouragement, this experience served as a punishment, discouraging repeated attempts.

• On Day 2, shifting to self-comparison fostered a sense of accomplishment and mastery, which students identified as motivating.

Operant Conditioning:

B.F. Skinner introduced the concept of operant conditioning following Ivan Pavlov’s work on classical conditioning. Unlike Pavlov’s model, which centers on automatic, reflexive responses, operant conditioning explains how behaviors are shaped by their consequences. According to this theory, both humans and animals are more likely to repeat actions that lead to desirable outcomes or rewards. The approach emphasizes two main types of reinforcement: positive reinforcement (adding a stimulus to encourage behavior) and negative reinforcement (removing an unpleasant stimulus to encourage behavior). If reinforcement is withheld, the learned behavior gradually diminishes—a process known as extinction.

In educational settings, operant conditioning suggests several strategies for effective teaching:

• Eliminate direct competition, but foster friendly and non-competitive challenges to motivate students to surpass personal goals.

• Offer frequent praise and recognition.

• Break down tasks into simpler steps to facilitate learning.

• Clearly communicate the rewards associated with specific behaviors.

• Maintain consistent positive reinforcement throughout the learning process.

Behaviourism 

Theorist: B.F Skinner 

Theory: Operant Conditioning 

Qoute from ... 

“Operant conditioning occurs when the frequency of behavior changes based on the behavior's consequence.” Ferguson, K. E. (2001).

Task based on theory: 

Day 1: 

• Create a small competition between the students of their understanding of what a competition is. 

• The skills tested are the: amount of pushups, amount of tiktoks, amount of handstand walks and the time held in a reverse handstand. 

• Record each of the students' scores on a piece of paper. 

• This task is done altogether 

Day 2: 

• Bring back that paper of the scores ask them to write their own score on a separate piece of paper. 

• Tell them that they need to beat their own score by 2 or 20 seconds. 

• They are not competing against eachother but against themselves.

• Also make them aware that for each skill that they manage to achieve they will choose a sweet or chocolate from the bag. 

My perspective on how this worked: 

• On the first day i could see that everyone was giving up and they did not really enjoy it 

• One student also told me that their ego was low. 

• Most of them where just telling me to write down the score that there was instead of finding interest and wanting to retry the competition to do better. 

• On the second day i found that many beat their scores by a lot and there where only a few which did not beat 1 of the 4 tasks. 

• Every time that they beat a score they would come running to me telling me how much they scored above what i expected and dove into the bag of sweets and then would run again to do the task again

• Also the fact that they were working alone gave them more confidence and felt less pressure from others who were watching them. 

• I think from their feedback that they enjoyed this session much more and felt more motivated. 

• Spent a lot more time and i had to tell them that they had to conclude unlike the day before

In class discussion: 

Did you think that by giving you sweets and chocolates made you more motivated to to challenge yourself? 

• Yes, one of the students exclaimed that the type of sweets there was made her more motivated (rolla belta favourite sweet ) 

How did the first session feel when we competed with eachother without a reward? 

• Unmotivated, ego was very low, we felt incompatible (there were a few students who excelled in this first task while others couldnt do 1), defeated. There was no difference if i fell it was over. 

How did you feel this time round? 

• Very motivated, also enjoyed it a lot more, excited. Sense of accomplishment. 

How did you feel about the fact that you were competing against yourselves instead of eachother? 

• Much better, we had no pressure and could take our time to perfect it and get even higher grades. 

• We were trying to get much higher grades when we were doing it. 

• We prefer this type of competition as we don't think all of us are in the same water. 

Do you think I could have helped you better in any way if so how? 

• Some told me no some told me they wanted me to be there watching them individually 

• Who told me no explained that they work better sometimes when they are not being eyeball watched. 

If you had to use this method how would you use it? 

• Exactly like this they said, (i don't think they understood this very much) 

In school or other activities, which method is used more todays or yesterdays? 

• Mostly we do competitions between eachother (some do other sports) 

• We are always competing with eachother in school 

Which method do you prefer this or last weeks method? 

• They had mixed opinions

• They said that last week they understood the skill much more and when they where seeing improvement they where getting more motivated. 

• This week they said that they where managing to perfect the skill to do more, having better posture so that they hold more still in the handstand for example. 

Would you like me to use this method more often in the classroom? 

• Yess 

Result: