Applying Skinner's Contingencies of Reinforcement in Auto-Paced Learning Laboratories.

Although educational research has produced an abundance of useful findings, the quality of education has improved but very little. In spite of an ever-increasing financial outlay at all governmental levels, schools are falling short of expectations of those who must use the products of public education. The answer to, "Why can't the schools improve the product?" will not be found through use of industrial concepts, but by a better understanding of the learning process. The effectiveness of Skinner's learning psychology as applied in the Auto-Paced Teaching Process (APT) as compared to conventional instruction is tested. The sample included 132 college science students: 44 in APT group; 88 in the conventionally taught control group. Subjects were randomly assigned to groups. Treatment variable tested was the effect of Skinner's contingencies of reinforcement employed in instruction of the APT group. Criterion tests included achievement tests, Purdue Attitude, STEP-Listening, Welch Science Process Inventory, and Science Unit Rating Scale. ANOVA of achievement test scores show APT significantly higher at .025 level in 2 of the 3 science topics studied. Covariate analysis of attitude scores significantly favor APT students at .001 level. APT students took 28% less time to complete assigned tasks. Results indicate that application of clinically tested learning theories to classroom instruction will produce greater teaching efficiency. (Author/PR)