B. F. Skinner Behaviourism is ‘the theory that human behaviour [and] is determined by conditioning rather than by thoughts or feelings’ (Oxford University, 1997) and is made up of many different components which can be observed within a classroom. Elements of behaviourism are positive and negative reinforcement, punishment, time-out and extinction. As a learner I have been influenced by all these elements directly and indirectly. Behaviourism has shaped the way in which I learn but also my understanding of myself as a learner. Positive reinforcement has been the greatest influence on my learning and was seen when I first began essay writing. Positive reinforcement ‘involves the strengthening [of] a target behaviour – that is, increasing and maintaining the probability that a particular behaviour will be repeated’ (Snowman, Dobozy, Scevak, Bryer, Bartleft, & Biehler, 2009, p. 229). 
Miss. Jones, Year 7 English teacher, explained that I was doing a great job of writing essays and that she could see the various parts of the essay structure which she had taught. This positive reinforcement reassured me that the essay structure I was using was correct and that I was doing a good job. This pushed and encouraged me to maintain a high level of drive to increase my experience with essay writing. I have found that Extinction is also an element that takes longer to gain experience in but can be used effectively to encourage appropriate behaviour. I have seen extinction used in classrooms where I have been a student but also where I have been teaching science as part of other subjects. Extinction is effective because it ignores the behaviour that is deemed unsuitable whilst maintaining classroom balance. As a learner I learn better through a combination of positive and negative reinforcement than other forms of behaviourism.
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