Psychology of Teaching: Analyzing Operant Conditioning for Education

This essay examines the application of operant conditioning in a secondary school setting, specifically addressing the challenges faced by a teacher, Mr. Tan, whose students are unresponsive and disengaged. The essay proposes using operant conditioning, with its principles of reward and punishment, to improve student behavior and academic performance. It analyzes the effectiveness of this approach by relating it to other learning theories such as Kohlberg's stages of moral development, Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, and Piaget's theory of cognitive development, highlighting the common emphasis on the consequences of behavior. The essay concludes that operant conditioning is a valuable tool for teachers to influence student behavior and foster a more effective learning environment, emphasizing the importance of understanding and addressing student psychology for improved educational outcomes.

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
As opined by Blackman (2017), the psychology of the students plays a pivotal role in
their ability to learn new things which are being taught to them in the classroom. McHugh,
Sandoz and Hooper (2016) are of the viewpoint that the teachers or the professors are required to
take into account the psychology of the students for the education or the knowledge which is
being offered by them to the students. More importantly, as discussed by Connolly (2017), the
teachers are also required to take the help of various kinds of measures or adequate operant
conditions through which they would be able to encourage the students to participate in the
things which are being taught to them and also to derive the maximum amount of benefit from
the same. Furthermore, the concept of operant conditioning becomes especially important from
the perspective of secondary plus two students since by way of offering rewards and also
punishing the students who are not performing as per the desired expectation, the teachers have
the option to substantially improve the grades of the students and also help them to learn new
things in a better manner (Walker, 2017). This essay intends to suggest an operant conditioning
environment for Mr. Tan regarding the resolution of the difficulties that he is facing for
educating his secondary plus two students and also analyze the effectiveness of the same through
the usage of adequate learning theories.
The case scenario which had been provided reveals the fact that Mr. Tan is a secondary
plus-two teacher who is presently facing various difficulties for the purpose of imparting the
required education to his students. For instance, it is seen that the students are not paying
adequate amount of attention to the things which are being taught by Mr. Tan and even they are
completing the different homework or for that matter the assignments which are being given by
Mr. Tan to them. More importantly, it is seen that when different questions are being asked by
Mr. Tan regarding the lessons which are being taught by him the students simply keep a blank

2PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
face and keep quiet. Thus, it had become very difficult for Mr. Tan to understand whether the
students are being able to understand the different things which are being taught by him or not.
In the face of these aspects, Mr. Tan had decided to take the help of the process of operant
conditioning to create the kind of classroom environment wherein the students would learn the
things which are being taught by him in a better manner and also be more responsive in the
classroom as well.
Aubrey and Riley (2018) are of the viewpoint that the operant conditioning theory states
that the students or for that matter the leaners are being able to learn new things or knowledge in
the best possible manner when the concept of reward and punishment is being used by the
teachers or the professors. As discussed by Harasim (2017), the teachers or the professors
through the adequate usage of this particular theory of learning have the opportunity to make the
desired correlation between the behaviors displayed by the learners or for that matter the students
with the consequences that they are likely to face on the basis of the same. Adding to this, Tracey
and Morrow (2017) have noted that the operant conditioning theory of learning is almost similar
to the transactional theory of leadership wherein it is seen that the leaders take the help of the
process of reward and punishment for the purpose of influencing the behavior or for that matter
the attitude of their followers. More importantly, it had been seen that the teachers or for that
matter the professors through the adequate usage of this particular theory of learning have the
opportunity to influence the learning behavior displayed by the students or the learners in the
best possible manner (Wilson, 2018). Moreover, the professors or the teachers by making the
students understand the repercussion of not effectively participating in the learning activities
have the option to positively influence the behavior or for that matter the attitude of the students
and thereby help them to learn new things adequately (Olson, 2015).

3PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
Mr. Tan for the resolution of the issues that he is presently facing related to teaching his
secondary plus two students has the opportunity to take the help of the operant conditioning
theory. In this relation, it needs to be said that the adequate usage of this particular theory is
likely to offer various benefits to Mr. Tan. For instance, one of the most important issues that
Mr. Tan is presently facing can be attributed to the fact that the majority of his students are
unresponsive to the things which are being taught by him and even do not complete their
homework or for that matter the assignments that are being provided to them. Thus, it is likely
that through the adequate usage of this particular theory Mr. Tan would be able to make the
students understand the consequences of this behavior displayed by them. In this relation, it
needs to be said that through the usage of this theory Mr. Tan would be able to make the students
understand this kind of behavior displayed by them is likely to adversely affect their grades and
also their knowledge. More importantly, since the things that the students in the next semester or
for that the next year’s class would be linked to the things which are being taught to them in this
class so this rather than merely hampering their grades for this year would also take a toll on
their subsequent year’s grades as well. In addition to these, through the adequate usage of the
reward and punishment policy Mr. Tan has the opportunity to effectively reward or for that
matter appreciate the students who are taking an active interest in the things which he is teaching
or taking it serious and also punish the students who despite repeated requests are not doing the
same. Thus, it is advisable for Mr. Tan to create a “reward and punishment” culture within the
classroom setting for educating the children. This in turn is likely to help Mr. Tan to effectively
influence the behavior of his students and resolve the issues that he is presently facing related to
offering them education.

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Landers et al. (2015) are of the viewpoint that an important aspect of the operant
conditioning theory is the fact that the precepts of this particular theory are in synchronicity with
the stipulations or for that the propositions of the other developmental theories or for that matter
the learning theories as well. For instance, Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development
states that the two most important factors which influence the learning process of the school
children are “conformity and interpersonal accord” and “authority and social order” (Miller &
Stoeckel, 2017). The aspect of conformity and interpersonal accord requires the students to
comply with the set patterns of rules, regulations and others of teaching and also effectively
fulfill pre-specified social roles (Brent, 2016). These in turn motivates the students to effectively
participate in the different learning activities which are being undertaken in the classroom. On
the other hand, the aspect of “authority and social order” helps the students to show respect for
the authority and also fulfill their social obligations as students(Amadi, 2017). In this relation, it
needs to be said that these two factors are an indirect representation of the policy of “reward and
punishment” which is being followed by the users of the operant conditioning theory of
education (Spencer, 2017).
Erikson's “stages of psychosocial development” is another important theory of
development which is being used by the different educators for the purpose of offering the
required education to the individual (Byerly, O'Sullivan & O'Brien, 2017). For instance, this
theory clearly indicates the fact that the secondary plus two students are not yet sure regarding
their identity or for that matter have a role confusion which in turn manifests itself in the
different kinds of mild protests staged by them (Suarez, Añabieza & Tagaytay, 2018). More
importantly, it is seen that they try to gain a role understanding by testing different kinds of roles
which sometimes becomes very problematic for the educators or for that matter the teachers

5PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
(Kumar & Nazneen, 2016). This as a matter of fact finds adequate amount of evidence from the
problems or for that matter the issues that Mr. Tan is presently facing with his own students and
their protests. Thus, for the resolution of the issues as per the precepts of this theory, Mr. Tan
needs to create a sense of unified identity among all the students of his class which in turn would
help them to identify with their role as students and thereby learn the things which are being
taught to them by Mr. Tan in an ardent manner.
Piaget's theory of cognitive development states that the secondary plus two students
normally belong to the stage of formal operational stage wherein they begin to think in terms of
the consequences of the behavior displayed by them (Bejjar & Boujelbene, 2016). Adding to
this, McHugh, Sandoz and Hooper (2016) have noted that the thought process of the individuals
during this particular stage is greatly influenced by the factors of actions and their likely
consequences that they would have to bear. This as a matter of fact has important connotations
from the perspective of the issues faced by Mr. Tan related to the education provided by him to
his students. For instance, Mr. Tan for the resolution of the issues faced by him in the classroom
have the opportunity to make the students effectively understand the repercussions or for that
matter the consequences of the behavior or the attitude adopted by them. More importantly, this
is likely to make the students more serious regarding the things which are being taught to them
by taking into account the consequences of the present action or for that matter the behavior
displayed by them (Hameed & Bakar, 2017).
A critical analysis of the operant conditioning theory and the measures that Mr. Tan
needs to follow for the resolution of the issues faced by him in the classroom in the particular
context of the other theories of development or learning yields insightful information regarding
the effectiveness of operant conditioning theory. In this relation, it needs to be said that a

6PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
common aspect among all the developmental theories or for that matter the learning theories
discussed in this paper is the fact that directly or indirectly they stress on the aspect of
consequences of the behavior displayed by the students. This in turn is being used by the
teachers or for that matter the educators for the purpose of influencing the behavior or the
attitude of the students and thereby facilitates the education of the students. It is precisely here
that the importance of the operant conditioning theory lies since focuses specifically on the
aspect of behavior displayed by the students and the resultant consequences of the same.
Furthermore, the teachers or for that matter the educators also have the opportunity to take the
help of the policy of reward and punishment for the purpose effectively motivating the students
for taking seriously the things which are being taught to them (Spencer, 2017). It is because of
these aspects of the operant conditioning theory that it had been recommended for Mr. Tan for
the resolution of the issues that he is facing with his students.
To conclude, the teachers often face different kinds of issues with the students that they
are required to teach and these issues can be easily overcome through the usage of adequate
development theories. The operant conditioning theory is an important one in this context which
enables the teachers to make the students understand the consequences of the actions displayed
by them. More importantly, as the above discussion reveals the precepts of this theory are in
conjunction or for that matter finds adequate support from the other development theories. These
aspects of the operant conditioning theory become apparent from the above discussion of the
same in the particular context of Mr. Tan and the issues faced by him in his classroom.

7PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING

8PSYCHOLOGY OF TEACHING
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