Operant Conditioning Plan

I will use shaping to teach my health students progressive muscle relaxation to help reduce stress and anxiety. I will guide them first through deep breathing, then once they feel comfortable with that I'll introduce the tensing of the muscle groups in small chunks at first (ie. the muscles of the arms and shoulders, the neck and face, the legs, the stomach etc.) and then all the muscles tensing together. I will guide them through recognizing the feeling of tension and then one muscle group at a time I will guide them through relaxing certain muscles as they "melt" into the floor. If the students need to we'll go back through any muscle groups they're struggling with or simply go back to just deep breathing until they're comfortable with how their bodies feel. If students struggle or are disruptive during this time of serenity I will use positive practice to help them try again with more positive behavior. I will use praise and compliments throughout the practice as positive reinforcement to recognize student success. If needed for the students I will employ the Premack Principle and say if they complete progressive relaxation we can move on to a fun game that helps relieve stress.

This is a good example of shaping because I start with the simplest task (deep breathing) and build on that to the more complex movements. Positive practice helps students to focus in on the behavior they need to correct so if they're being rowdy during times of relaxation they can focus more on relaxation rather than getting stressed about a punishment or a negative comment from me. Positive reinforcement helps students feel successful and excited about what they're doing. While progressive relaxation is helpful it's not for everyone so for those students less excited about doing it, the Premack Principle will help them behave during the activity so they can move on to activities that are more suited to their personality.