Break-out Plan #9

Date: November 18th 2016

Break-out Title/Topic: Operant Conditioning
Bridge-in
- Like last week, mentees will be doing
another experiment based on the theory of
operant conditioning instead of classical
conditioning
Instead of using them as participants, I
will be the subject for the experiment
Pre-Assessment
- Ask mentees if they have previously heard
of operant conditioning (still a part of
behaviourism in psychology)
If they have heard of this theory before,
do they agree that it is present in every day
life? (i.e., positive and negative
reinforcement)
If so, can they think of an example that
they may not have realized before this
lecture by Dr. Jackson?
Learning Objective
- Mentees will be able to recognize the
consequences of behaviour for reward or
punishment in every day scenarios from
my example (i.e., using the hot and cold
game to explain the method of shaping)
- Mentees will be able to easily come up
with their own examples of positive and
negative reinforcement, positive and
negative punishment, and shaping from
their own ideas
Participatory Activity
- Operant conditioning experiment:
Give mentees an object to hide
somewhere that has mild difficulty to find
(can be out of sight, can be hidden in
someones bag)
I will leave the room so they have a
chance to collaboratively hide the object
somewhere
When I enter the room again, they will
use the cues hot to let me know I am
getting closer to the object, or cold to let
me know I am getting further from the

Resources

Time
(Minutes)
1

Object of my
choosing (e.g., stuffed
animal)
Operant conditioning
worksheet provided
by myself

20

object until I find it

This will demonstrate the theory of
shaping in terms of operant conditioning
- After demonstration is complete, break
mentees up into groups of 2-3
Handout operant conditioning worksheet
and explain the first question (i.e., making
up their own example of shaping giving
five steps for their one scenario)
Explain in depth what shaping is exactly
since this is a concept most first year
psychology students might not grasp right
away
Post-Assessment
- Check for learning by going over the
worksheet with my mentees
Ask each group for answers to different
questions also, ask each group what
example they came up with for shaping
and how they came up with their steps
- Ask mentees if the concept of
reinforcement versus punishment makes
sense (because this can be confusing for
people who are new to the terms and
concepts)
Summary
Briefly summarize the overall concept of operant
conditioning (i.e., behaviour and consequence).
Make sure mentees know these are important
theories to understand because they are constantly
talked about in psychology. By their fourth year,
these theories will be burned into their brains.
Also, these concepts will be tested on for their
final exam (which is worth 50 percent of their
final grade!!!).

Operant conditioning
worksheet provided
by myself