B.F. Skinner's Theory of Learning-My Perspective

I read a rather negative reaction about Skinner's theory from a friend who is on a short course in education. This reaction made me wish it is coming from one of my teacher trainees here in Ghana, whom I am trying to introduce a more varied and participatory teaching approaches in Maths. Which means that first, I have to teach them the different Theories of Learning. These theories serve as the solid foundation in any teaching methodologies a teacher will use. Why I wish it to be coming from my students, is simply because a reaction even if negative would mean that my students at least understand some implications of a concept. More importantly, it will help them develop a critical thought which is beyond just memorization, a very uncommon occurrence in Ghana's educational arena.
A negative reaction has its own merit because it has helped me realize that I should look critically at how I present any Theory of Learning to my students. In the past decade of my teaching career, B.F. Skinner's Behaviorist Theory of Learning specifically his 'operant conditioning' together with the other theories, has guided me in the way I presented my lessons and in the way I dealt with my students. So it is surprising to find that a would-be teacher would react negatively to his theory. Hence, a critical look at the theory might somehow shade a light on this. I strongly believe that theories per se has no use unless it has its practical application. This conviction has helped me to carefully choose the kind of educational theories that would suit my teaching style, my personality and my passion for learning. Over the years I discovered that no theory of learning stands isolated. Each can be interwoven/combined with other theories in order to create a really effective teaching approach. This process is not easy but continuous and reflective use of these theories will be greatly beneficial to both teachers and students. Hence, to discard one theory without trying out how it is applied in real situations, will be a disservice to oneself. So where does Skinner's theory fit here? Well, I can just argue from the practical point of view. First, let us look at the Theory and how relevant it is to everyday life. Behaviorist Learning Theory, argues from a view that individuals learn/behave in a certain manner based from their interaction with their environment. Environment in this sense includes; living and non-living things as well as events/experiences that individuals encounter be it in a formal or informal setting. Skinner's operant conditioning focuses on a stimulus-response principle. Given a stimulus, then a response would naturally follow. The more the stimulus, the more is the response that follows. A more positive stimulus, would bring out a more positive response. A more negative stimulus will result in a more negative response as illustrated in his experiment on the pigeon, who after trial and error, finally learned to picked on the right ball in order to get more food. In real life this principle has a wide practical application. Be it in the classroom, at home or anywhere else. Young and old alike, we are responsive/reactive human beings. For instance, a toddler who puts his/her finger near a burning candle and gets burned will cry because of the pain he/she felt. The burning fire(stimulus) made the toddler cry(immediate response). This negative experience will teach that child a lasting lesson to stay away from fire. This brings to mind other practical examples but I would not go to such details. Rather, I'd like to leave behind a series of question for anyone reading this to ponder. I will follow this up with how Skinner's Theory can be applied in the classroom and dealing with students in my subsequents posts. For now, think in the light of Skinner's theory...
a) Why do we keeps on eating?
b) Why do we love some food and totally dislike others?
c) Why do we like to be praised and dislike being constantly criticized?
d) Why do we like a certain subjects and dislike the others?
e) Why do we have special hobbies?
f) why do we keep going out with certain group of friends and avoid the others?
g) How will the saying "once bitten twice shy" relate to Skinner's Theory?
Bearing in mind Skinner's stimulus-response principle, the questions can be endless...feel free to add yours.:=)