Example Of Essay On Educating Peter

Question 1

A. This type of learning is called operant conditioning
In operant conditioning, the individual/organism is forced to operate in the environment depending on the conditions that are availed (Gormezano et al. 1987). To achieve the relevant and required outcome, the behavior in which this organism engages in is essential and instrumental. Initially, Peter was being treated with a lot of caution. His behavior was further influenced by the attention he got from behaving badly. However, upon changing the approach, Peter’s behavior improved to the extent that he was awarded at the end of the year. This was mainly due to the fact that operant conditioning was being employed to tame his actions.
B. The teacher’s tactic of giving Peter a lot of attention when he does good things is classified under positive reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement is a method in sociology and psychology in which the trainer uses praise or even rewards his subject for doing something correctly. This method has been argued to be the best as far as trying to shape an individual’s behavior is concerned. When positive behavior is rewarded, the subject is likely to be encouraged to try their best so as to be rewarded again. In Peter’s scenario, the teacher and students give him a lot of attention when he does something correctly. Because o this, Peter tries his best to ensure that he does things correctly. With time, he wins the school award for positive behavior.
C. Observational/Social learning
Observational (social) learning occurs when one learns through observing other people’s behaviors. Unlike many types of conditioning, observational learning does not entail using reinforcement (Harper et al. 1978). However, there is need for a model to be present. Such models may include siblings, parents, teachers or even friends. Models play the role of facilitating cognitive process behavior. Learners learn through observing what the model does and how the model behaves. With time, the learner gets to appreciate why the model does things in a particular way, internalizing them and behaving in such a way. It is a proven way of learning.
In the video, there are a number of instances on how observational learning occurs when the other types of conditioning are being demonstrated in the video. The teacher instructs the students not to give Peter attention when he portrays bad behavior, and only to give him attention hen behaving correctly. This way, the students start treating Peter differently. With time, Peter learnt to behave n a manner that was acceptable from other students. Of importance to note is the fact that he was able to observe how the teachers and other students behaved, eventually behaving the same. This was tough observational (social) learning.

Question 2

A. The study by Rosenthal and Jacobsen affirmed the fact that the expectations that teachers had about their students would determine their behavior. This was more so in younger children as opposed to older children. The main reason behind this is that young children are easily transformable or malleable. According to the experiment the two carried out, the younger children proved to fulfill the prophecies of the teachers.
B According o the movie, Mrs. Stallings had a number of academic expectations for Peter. Better academic performance and good behavior in school and among peers were some of these behaviors. At the end of the year, Peter’s performance and behavior had improved greatly, meeting the expectations that Mrs. Stalling had about him.
Peter’s behavior in response to Mrs. Stallings’ expectations relates directly to Rosenthal and Jacobson’s findings. In both scenarios, the aim was to transform the learners and ensure they behave in a way that was expected of them. At the end of the year, Peter had tremendously improved every aspect that he was being tested on. This is consistent with the findings of Rosenthal and Jacobson.
C. Conceptual skills refer to the ability of a person to think about something creatively, to analyze it properly and understand various abstract ideas that are complicated (Mullen et al. 1978). Peter demonstrated this in a number of ways. His ability to embrace social learning is a good example of this.
In a nutshell, social skills refer to any facilitating communication and interaction with others (Fuchs, 2002). Social skills are learned through a process known socialization, and they can be internalized to be interpersonal skills. According o the movie, Peter has a number of social skills. Despite being challenged, he was able to socialize with other students and form friends. The program the teacher invented to help him improve his behavior and performance also worked effectively, much to the delight of many people.
Practical skills enable one to use whatever they have learnt in the class in situations that are real life (Staveley-Taylor et al. 1996). In a nutshell, a person is able to transfer the classroom knowledge and use it in the outside would in a practical manner. Through the teachings that Peter received, he was able to cope with the expectations of his teachers and other students.
D. By being in Mrs. Stallings’ class, Peter’s abilities were changed significantly. The mechanisms Mrs. Stallings employed proved to be effective and Peter’s behavior drastically changed to the positive.

References

Fuchs, B. (2002). Social skills. Bicester: Speechmark.
Gormezano, I., Prokasy, W. F., & Thompson, R. F. (1987). Classical conditioning. Hillsdale, NJ: L. Erlbaum Associates.
Harper & Row, P. (1978). Observational learning. New York: Harper & Row.
Mullen, D. (1985). A conceptual framework for the life skills program. Toronto, Ont.: Guidance Centre, University of Toronto, in co-operation with Employment Support Services Branch, Canada Employment and Immigration Commission, and the Canadian Govt. Pub. Centre, Supply and Services Canada.
Nelson-Jones, R. (2005). Practical counselling and helping skills: Text and activities for the lifeskills counselling model. London: SAGE Publications.
Staveley-Taylor, H., Mash, M., Newman, K., Uniview Productions., & Films for the Humanities (Firm). (1996). Classical and operant conditioning. Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities.