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You are probably familiar with animal learning and conditioning. You probably know that certain behaviours in your pet can be encouraged by reward, for example. You may also know something of the science behind animal conditioning: you may have heard about Pavlov’s drooling dogs, Skinner’s peckish pigeons or Thorndike’s cunning cats. However, what you may not know is that the scientific study of animal conditioning has provided psychologists with an armoury of principles about how training can be most effective.

The post Conditioning in the classroom: 8 tips for teaching and learning appeared first on OUPblog.

Teach strategies that are “generalizable,” i.e., that apply to a broad range of problems.

I’m not so sure about this one. Designing Effective Mathematics Instruction gives as an example that using a single pizza pie, cookie, or a pie chart (emphasis single) to teach fractions is a bad idea because any single model doesn’t apply to mixed fractions. Instead, the book recommends that you teach proper and improper fractions at the same time.

As I said above, I’m not so sure about this one. The underlying assumption is that students can master both types of fractions at the same time. But shouldn’t you teach pre-skills first? (Isn’t proper fractions a type of pre-concept necessary for understanding improper fractions?) I have the feeling that, in practice, if you try to teach both, you’ll end up focusing on proper fractions first.

I would agree wholeheartedly with this tip if we learned like computers. But we don’t. We humans like to attach meaning to what we do. We work best when we understand underlying concepts. So yes, teach generalizable, efficient strategies but keep Tip #1 in mind. Depending on your class, you may have to teach a less efficient, less generalizable strategy first so that your students have the opportunity to learn underlying concepts.
But what do you think? Leave your comments below.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Today's guest blogger is Amsco author Dana Henricks, who recently gave us MCAS English Language Arts, Grade 6 and MCAS English Language Arts, Grade 8.

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I assumed it was the norm that, to get my teaching certificate, I had to take endless courses on the theories and philosophies of teaching, besides a smattering of other required courses that had nothing to do with teaching French or English, but which would make me a well-rounded individual (and keep a substantial number of liberal arts professors employed, but that's another conspiracy theory altogether). Then, after three years of studying the theoretical aspects of teaching, I would be allowed to enter the hallowed halls of some middle school and do a semester of student teaching.

The saying "baptism by fire," would be a gross understatement of what my fellow used-to-wanna-be teachers and I went through those first few weeks of student teaching. One friend didn't even make it through the first week before she fled crying from the school with a chalkboard eraser Super-Glued to her hair.

All those theories about classroom management were like oh, so many dull weapons, in our hands. "Display your classroom rules in a prominent location in the room and go over them with students the first day." I did that, only to find the next day they’d been creatively edited by some magic-marker wielding 8th grader.

"Always have a 'bell work' activity written on the board so that when students come to class, the first thing they do is sit down and begin to work." I did that, too, but the first thing my students did, was run around the room screaming as if someone had just pulled the fire alarm. Or they did pull the fire alarm, and then ran out of the room screaming.

I decided it was a money-making scam devised by universities' education departments, like the required courses thing. If people found out right off how extremely challenging teaching really is, there would be less education majors. Or maybe because we do need teachers, making people invest so much time and effort preparing to teach almost guarantees they will endure the pain of student teaching and actually become teachers. Still a scam, but a loftier one.

Then, one day, my supervising teacher invited me to attend a parent-teacher-student conference, held for Josh,* one of my language arts students. He was one of my favorites, even though you're not supposed to have favorites. We’d really clicked, probably because we both had a rebel spirit.

Josh was a skateboarder, into very hard, fast skate music. He was a rowdier student (and most likely the one who had reworded my classroom rules poster), but when he found out I rode a motorcycle and listened to the Clash and the Ramones, his classroom behavior improved, and he began to shine academically.

So, I was surprised to walk into the conference room and see Josh sitting glumly between his parents, who looked just as miserable. The industrial arts teacher glowered across from them. For about five minutes, I listened as he listed all of Josh's wrongdoings, ending with, ". . . and if there is no change in his behavior, extreme disciplinary action will need to be taken."

Josh and his parents looked crushed. Finally, out of character for shy me, I said, "I just have to say something." Josh and his mom and dad braced for another onslaught of criticism. "If Josh is behaving this way in industrial arts, that definitely has to change,” I said. “But in language arts, he is one of my best students." I went on to describe Josh's achievements in glowing terms, and with each accolade, I could see his mom and dad perk up more and more, until they were literally puffed up with pride.

Seeing the love and esteem they had for their son, and knowing I’d been the one to resuscitate those feelings during that big emotional smack-down, was the highlight of my student teaching.

Still, if not for three years of theory classes that convinced me to tough out student teaching, I might have bailed like my friend had, in the first week. This moment never would have come.

So maybe, just maybe, having to pay your dues before you student teach isn't a “conspiracy” after all.

* name has been changed