Association for Behavior Analysis International

We cannot teach effectively without defining what is learned. In The Science of Learning and the Art of Teaching article (1954), B. F. Skinner outlined the relevance of behavior analysis to education. Learning occurs when contingencies change behavior; teaching consists of appropriately implementing those contingencies. Computers make powerful teaching machines feasible, but educational systems rarely avail themselves even of what was known when such technologies were severely limited. It follows from Skinner's analysis that what students do is what they learn, that teaching involves arranging stimuli that occasion relevant behavior, and that consequences must be contingent upon that behavior. Too often, educational systems focus on teacher rather than student behavior. Changing what teachers do by modifying curricula or media or even by allowing them to modify their teaching based on student feedback is inadequate if student behavior is neglected. Students are disadvantaged when teachers are expected to help them more, as when they are urged to provide more detailed lecture outlines when it would be better for students to do outlines themselves. These points lead to advice for both students and teachers, and are illustrated with examples from the teaching of behavior analysis within standard undergraduate course structures.