The Importance of Instant Feedback
During the history of instructional design and learning theory experts agreed on the importance of immediate feedback. Sidney L. Pressey was one of the first researchers who emphasized the importance of immediate feedback in education. B.F. Skinner followed with the Theory of Reinforcement. His programmed instructions were characterized by clearly stated behavioral objectives, small frames of instructions, self-pacing, active learner response to inserted questions, and immediate feedback regarding the correctness of the response. During his 60-year career, Skinner discovered important principles of operant conditioning, a type of learning that is based on rewards and punishments. Skinner, a strict behaviorist, believed that his reinforcement theory could explain even the most complex of human behaviors.
Unfortunately, nowadays instant feedback is often missing in the teaching and learning process. With the emergence of the information age and the computer as a teaching tool, the theories and practices of Educational Technology have become of paramount importance. Instant feedback is the missing link in role playing. Delayed feedback discussions can often not deliver what is expected. Many trainers can be compared to an art critic. They comment on a finished picture. Their comments, however interesting, cannot change the picture. The only way an artist can be influenced by the critic is to recall the critic’s comments or suggestions while creating the next picture.
The Performance Prompter releases the trainers from the role of art critic and allows them to become involved in the process. This involvement allows the trainers to shape behavior as it happens.
Behavior shaping is not a method for treating inappropriate behavior. It is a method for optimizing behavior. Shaping is used during role playing to build the desired behavior in steps and reward those behaviors that come progressively closer to the one a trainer and the participants have selected as the final goal.
See in our next post how the Performance Prompter works.