Chapter 9 Log

What on Earth is conditioning?
- It's as simple as learning. That's what students are doing in classrooms every day, being conditioned to learn. Conditioning can focus on different stimulis that the teacher provides to get the effective response, students understanding the curriculum. Students are also how to behave properly and respectfully if the teacher uses conditioning as he/she should.
So what?
In the classroom, if a student needs to behave themselves, a teacher can use a form of conditioning called cueing to realize that there are rewards for behaving well. The teacher can positively reinforce someone for raising their hand respectfully by saying, "Thanks Johnny for raising your hand" as the teacher throws Johnny some candy. The students will then know that they will get candy for being respectful to the teacher and other students by raising their hand. It's not a big thing for a teacher to give a little piece of candy to the students if that shapes behavior that will reflect positively in the classroom environment. It's as easy as A,B, and D.
Now what?
There are innumerous examples of how a teacher can condition his/her students to behave properly and learn curriculum. It's important for the teacher not to ruin intrinsic motivation of students while trying to motivate them. A good teacher will give students intrinsic reinforcers so the student can continue proper behavior in the future. The extrinsic reinforcers, like candy, and stuff will not be around when the student gets to high school and college, so it's important to help students set goals for themselves.