Learning Project 5/14-19

Designing a Learning Experiment Assignment Sheet

We are studying how conditioning and learning occur according to the school of behaviorist psychology. You should be able to explain the basic concepts behind classical and operant conditioning, the purpose and effects of reinforcement, the types of reinforcement, and how to control reinforcement so as to make conditioning and learning more powerful. You should also have an understanding of cognitive mapping and modeling and the importance they play in learning, as well as how motivation and emotion influence learning.

For this project, you will be asked to demonstrate your new knowledge by designing an operant conditioning experiment that utilizes scheduling of reinforcement, cognitive learning, and motivation to foster the learning process. The actual experiment to be done is up to you and your partners (you may work in groups of three). The only requirements are that the experiment be school appropriate, have fictitious characters (if you are using humans), and not be an experiment that appears in the textbook or has been covered in lectures and demonstrations. You must be original and design your own experiment that shows an understanding of conditioning and learning according to the school of behavioristic psychology.

The assignment has four aspects that will be evaluated with the assignment’s scoring guidelines.

1. Write-up. You are required to prepare a write-up that states the goal/purpose of your learning model, accurately identifies and labels the principles of learning used, describes the environment, describes the process by which the subject will learn, and states what you expect to see happen.

·        Goal/Purpose. What is the goal? Of course, I need to know the final learning objective, but what skills and so on must be learned along the way?

·        Learning Principles. Correctly identify and label the learning principles you are using. Be sure to use the correct principles according to classical or operant conditioning. Also, types of reinforcement, and so on.

·        Environment. Give an explanation of the learning environment. This may include such things as materials, design, subjects, and so on.

·        Process. What will happen? Depending on whether your subject(s) is human or another animal, how will your subject(s) begin to learn and move toward mastering the objective? Also, describe what stages you expect the subject to progress through.

·        Expected Outcomes. State what you expect to see happen (i.e., what will be learned, how will the learning happen, and how long will the learning take?). Explain what we can expect to see from your subject once conditioning has occurred.

2. Demonstration of Comprehension. Your comprehension of the material will be evident through your use of correct terminology, an experimental design that matches the assigned topic, and the process(es) you have used to get the subject to perform/learn the desired behavior. Be as thorough as possible, but get to the point.

3. Scale Model. You are to create a scale model (e.g., a shoe box model, original type Skinner box) that accurately represents your learning environment. Include labels where appropriate.

4. Presentation. Your project should speak for itself. In essence, others should be able to analyze your poster and learn. Your explanations, visuals, vocabulary, material organization, and so on should be clear and concise. At the same time, be sure to include enough detail and explanation to demonstrate that you understand the topics you have covered in your learning experiment.

Listed here are the topics for which you will design an experiment. Circle or highlight those aspects your group has chosen to include in its project.

Conditioning	Reinforcement	Schedule of Reinforcement	Cognitive Learning	Motivation
	Choose 1	Choose 1	Choose 1	Choose 2
• Operant	• Positive • Negative and • Primary • Secondary	• Fixed ratio • Variable ratio • Fixed interval • Variable interval	• Cognitive map • Latent learning • Observational learning	• Intrinsic • Extrinsic  • Biological

You will work on this project today and Friday, and will share it with the class next Tuesday. Have fun!

 

Scoring Guidelines for Designing a Learning Experiment

Group Members: ________________________________________________________________

Experiment Topic: _______________________________________________________________

This assignment is worth 30 points. It will be evaluated with these scoring guidelines.

Extraordinary Project (30-27 points)

·       This project fully and creatively represents all of the significant aspects of learning, revealing many connections between concepts, theories, and facts.

·       All of the requirements for this project have been clearly met and most have been exceeded.

·       Compelling evidence of time, care, and effort is clearly apparent.

Noteworthy Project (26-23 points)

·       This project represents most of the significant aspects of learning, revealing many connections between concepts, theories, and facts.

·       All of the requirements for this project have been clearly met and many may have been exceeded.

·       Evidence of time, care, and effort is clearly apparent.

Standard Project (22-21)

·       This project adequately represents many of the significant aspects of learning, revealing many connections between concepts, theories, and facts.

·       Most of the requirements for this project have been met; some may have been exceeded.

·       Some evidence of time, care, and effort is apparent.

Developing Project (20-19 points)

·       This project reflects some of the significant aspects of learning.

·       Some of the requirements of this project have been met.

·       Limited evidence of time, care, and effort is apparent.

Limited or Minimal Project (18–1 points)

·       This project reflects an inadequate understanding of learning.

·       Some of the requirements of this project have been met.

·       Little evidence of time, care, and effort is apparent.

·       This project must be revised for credit.