Operant conditioning: The idea that the conditions of behavior re-enforce how to behave is called operant conditioning. According to this theory, learning is a process of conditioning in an environment of stimulus, reward, and punishment. For example, a student will choose to complete their homework because they know that they will be reward or praise. Reward or praise re-inforces to them that their behavior (of completing homework) is positive, and is expected.

Operant conditioning supports the early theories of didactic pedagogy- which involves instructional routines and modes of teaching and consuming knowledge. For example, when teachers re-iterate a process- instruction or teaching is followed by a group assignment, and a group assignment is followed by individual tasks and a test which ultimately leads to praise, a ranking, or a reward- students begin to understand what is expected in each phase of learning due to re-enforcement, or operant conditioning. In this way, teachers have created an optimal pattern of stimulus and response.