Mr. Gates is a first grade teacher who believes in using Behaviorism strategies to manage his classroom. When his students become too loud, he has a stuffed animal--a cow-- that makes a "moo" sound. When the students hear this noise, they know that it is becoming to loud in the classroom, and they need to be quieter.
To exhibit the Premack principle, Mr. Gates set up a corner of the room, complete with games and puzzles for his students to do when they are done with their "morning work." He really likes this section of his classroom because it is a positive and stationary reminder that they should work hard. If they do their work efficiently, they are rewarded. While they are in the corner, they need to be quiet and courteous to the other students who are still working on they're work.
To decrease inappropriate behaviors in his classroom, Mr. Gates uses the extinction strategy. Since his students are young, they usually are looking for attention when they are acting out in class. He used to look at them or tell them to stop, but those attempts were fruitless. Now, he simply ignores the child who is causing the outburst, unless they are completely out of hand. This way, the student isn't receiving the attention that they want, so they usually stop. He also is not forced to interrupt what he is doing while using this strategy.
I like your example of a cue, but be sure to understand how the cue became effective (how it was conditioned) in the first place. It must have been taught through some method (probably praising students who initially got quiet after the first time he used the moo).
ReplyDeleteI like your extinction example, and I think you go into a lot of great detail. I think you could have a little more detail and explanation about how the corner activity embodied the Premack principle (just being specific in making connections). Nice job.