Editing B. F. Skinner (section)

== Influence on teaching ==
Along with psychology, [[education]] has also been influenced by Skinner's views, which are extensively presented in his book ''The Technology of Teaching'', as well as reflected in [[Fred S. Keller]]'s ''[[Personalized System of Instruction]]'' and [[Ogden Lindsley|Ogden R. Lindsley]]'s ''[[Precision teaching|Precision Teaching]]''.

Skinner argued that education has two major purposes:

# to teach repertoires of both verbal and nonverbal behavior; and
# to interest students in learning.

He recommended bringing students' behavior under appropriate control by providing reinforcement only in the presence of stimuli relevant to the learning task. Because he believed that human behavior can be affected by small consequences, something as simple as "the opportunity to move forward after completing one stage of an activity" can be an effective reinforcer. <!-- What is this a citation from? --> Skinner was convinced that, to learn, a student must engage in behavior, and not just passively receive information.<ref name=":1"/>{{Rp|389}}

Skinner believed that effective teaching must be based on positive reinforcement which is, he argued, more effective at changing and establishing behavior than punishment. He suggested that the main thing people learn from being punished is how to avoid punishment. For example, if a child is forced to practice playing an instrument, the child comes to associate practicing with punishment and thus develops feelings of dreadfulness and wishes to avoid practicing the instrument. This view had obvious implications for the then widespread practice of [[rote learning]] and [[school discipline|punitive discipline]] in education. The use of educational activities as punishment may induce rebellious behavior such as vandalism or absence.<ref name="Holland">Holland, J. 1992. "B. F Skinner." ''[[American Psychologist]]''.</ref>

Because teachers are primarily responsible for modifying student behavior, Skinner argued that teachers must learn effective ways of teaching. In ''The Technology of Teaching'' (1968), Skinner has a chapter on why teachers fail:<ref name=":2">Skinner, B. F. 1968. ''The Technology of Teaching''. New York: [[Appleton-Century-Crofts]]. {{LCCN|68-12340}}.</ref>{{Rp|93–113}} He says that teachers have not been given an in-depth understanding of [[teaching]] and [[learning]]. Without knowing the science underpinning teaching, teachers fall back on procedures that work poorly or not at all, such as:

*using aversive techniques (which produce escape and avoidance and undesirable emotional effects);
* relying on telling and explaining ("Unfortunately, a student does not learn simply when he is shown or told.");<ref name=":2"/>{{Rp|103}}
* failing to adapt learning tasks to the student's current level; and
* failing to provide positive reinforcement frequently enough.

Skinner suggests that any age-appropriate skill can be taught. The steps are
#Clearly specify the action or performance the student is to learn.
#Break down the task into small achievable steps, going from simple to complex.
#Let the student perform each step, reinforcing correct actions.
#Adjust so that the student is always successful until finally the goal is reached.
#Shift to intermittent reinforcement to maintain the student's performance.