B. F. Skinner's Reinforcement Theory

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In studying B. F. Skinners Reinforcement Theory, as presented in textbook “Human Learning” by Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, the information presented provides an overview of one of the oldest theories in motivation. Skinner’s theory teaches us that an individual’s actions and conduct occur accordingly to the values and penalties of the action or conduct. This denotes that if you want to influence a modification in someone’s performance and activities, using a stimulus that increases the motivation would result in a change. The field of outdoor education is vast with many components. Programs range from outdoor learning classrooms that support STEM curriculum for schools, outdoor sports and recreation, ecology and natural resource activities and …show more content…

In outdoor learning environments, this signal could be a finger to the lips to be quiet and listen to birds singing or animals making noise. Once you have the attention of the students, the extrinsic motivation of the bird songs correspondingly affects their learning due to the desired behavior being met. Outdoor camps would use the ringing of a dinner bell to cue campers that it was time for the next activity or an upcoming meal. This cueing would change their behavior to get up and move in order to get in line quickly rather than sit and be idle and the last to get in …show more content…

Basically, the learning theory is carried out in observing an example, such as a person, perform an action or pattern, imitating what was seen and done and receiving the same results as the model observed received. As a college softball pitcher, I watched a lot of games on television and concentrated on the pitches that were being thrown by other the pitchers. My attention was drawn to the placement of the balls pitched. The placement, speed, and type of pitch were noted and played a crucial role in where the ball was hit. If the ball broke correctly, it would be hit as a ground ball or fly ball that was easily played for an out. If the ball was not thrown correctly and did not break, it could result in a base hit or home run. Throwing the ball correctly involved attention to form, memory such as muscles and where the batter was most likely to swing and motivation in getting an out. As STEM activities involve learning by doing, modeling provides a hands-on opportunity to introduce new knowledge and