TEACHING OPERANT-CONDITIONING AT THE ZOO

Psychology instructors often visit zoos with their classes to teach ab out observational data collection methods and animal behavior. Unfortu nately, they do not generally introduce the positive reinforcement tra ining techniques used in Zoos as models of applied operant conditionin g. In this article, we describe a partnership between Zoo Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology in teaching the principles of oper ant conditioning to undergraduate students in an experimental psycholo gy class. The experience provided a valuable educational opportunity t o students who simultaneously assisted zoo keepers with the management of animals in their care. According to both informal and formal stude nt evaluations, the laboratory was an effective way to convey the prin ciples of operant conditioning in an applied setting.