B.F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning
B. F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning is based on the fact that a learner operates according to the environment and changes in behavior are due to reinforcement. A teacher must manipulate the school environment to increase learning. This can be done with discriminative stimuli and reinforcement. One aspect of language that young children usually lack is phonemic awareness, which is an understanding that speech is comprised of a series of individual sounds. Children must analyze the units of speech rather than focus on their meaning. These abstract units of speech are called phonemes. The objective of phonemic awareness activities is to help students realize that speech is made up of a series of sounds. It is sometimes hard to relate letters to their phonemes, but it is imperative that students learn them to be able to read and write. When children enter kindergarten, around age five, one of the first things they need to acquire is phonemic awareness. This includes learning letters, the sounds (phonemes) they make, and realizing that the phonemes fit together to make words. This is to be learned in the school setting and (hopefully) at home. As students begin to put phonemes together to make words, they will be well on their way to reading and writing. Students must be reinforced for behavior to change. I would use natural and contrived reinforcers. When students can correctly match five letters with their phonemes, they can choose an activity from their list to do for ten minutes. Before this, I would have each student make a list of things s/he likes to do in school. That way, I know what is reinforcing to each child. This would be natural reinforcement. I would also use contrived reinforcers. Praise is a valuable reinforcer, and I would constantly praise and encourage my students for making progress.