Clicker training is a positive reinforcement training, based on a linking stimulus as the clicker in operant conditioning which B. F. Skinner identified the principle (wikipedia). A clicker is a tiny noisemaker. It is proven that clicker training is an effective method for most dogs as treats and toys as motivators. It gives instant and consistent feedback. Not only dogs, but Navy dolphins also perform precisely such as locating mines in the Persian gulf, which never accidentally set off a mine(Karen Pryor Clicker Training, 2002). According to B. F. Skinner(1957), “The reproducibility from species to species is a product of the method. In choosing stimuli, responses, and reinforcers appropriate to the species being studied, we eliminate the sources of many species differences.” Likewise, the experiment of behaviorism is still ongoing widely.

Then it has also caught on with humans. Dr. Martin Levy was inspired by clicker training when his dog successfully performed the complex jumps and twirls in the frisbee field(NPR, 2018). As an orthopedic surgeon and a clinical professor, he decided to teach his students how to “tying a locking, sliding knot’’ and ‘‘making a low-angle drill hole’’ by clicker training. An operant learning model was proved effectively for two specific complex behaviors (Levy, 2016). According to Levy(2016), the operant test group performed more precisely than the control group although the time to first success and the time to performance were longer than the other. Such a model brought out a significant outcome such as precision, and thus it is worthy to invest time (Levy, 2016). It seems precise to conduct such a model, which Dr. Levy breaks the skills down into small and incremental steps of surgical techniques marked with the clicker.

Image: The steps of behavior of “tying the locking, sliding knot” (Levy at el., 2016)

The one of the reasons why Dr. Levy uses the clicker in profession is because per Dr. Levy "the clicker training is baggage free, and emotion free. It can remove all the usual interference from the teacher"(NPR, 2018). Dr. Levy brought the example such as "great job," "well done," or "no, wrong". Teacher's feedback might influence students and to some extent be biased by personal judgment about students. It implied that the teacher might fail to provide neutral feedback to students or the feedback might not be necessary in case. It might result in teacher-students chemistry or the teacher might have an emotional connection to students. The power of judgment-free learning could be the benefit of behaviorism in education(NPR, 2018). The research of Dr. Levy(2016) specifically notes that clickers can mark achievement of the behavior in “a non-judgmental manner” when generating complex desired behavior through reinforcement(p. 954). The method of Dr. Levy remains an outlier in the field of medicine.

Furthermore, Michigan State University, College of Veterinary Medicine adapted the concept of immediate feedback in the new curriculum, following the “flipped classroom model”. The College of Veterinary Medicine used the so -called “iClicker” in which students can experience quality learning. Such a method enables the faculty to assess student’s understanding of knowledge immediately and then provide the proper steps for the students to diagnose ill animals (Vetschool Tails, 2019). It also helps the faculty to observe students’ response and go further to help students fix the incorrect idea. The advantage of iClicker is not one way. The faculty can collect random feedback from students to improve the course. Similarly to clicker-trained animals who can remember what they learned for a long time and show higher confidence in their performance, iClicker have been proven to help engagement and increase information retention along with confidence in both knowledge and ability (Vetschool Tails, 2019).

Reference

Karen Pryor Clicker Training. (2002 Nov 01). Did Dolphins Go AWOL? Clickertraining.com https://clickertraining.com/node/246

Levy, M. I. & Pryor, K. W. & Mckeon, T. R. (2016 Apr 04). Is Teaching Simple Surgical Skills Using an Operant Learning Program More Effective Than Teaching by Demonstration? Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Volume 474, Number 4. p. 474:945–955. p. 954

DOI 10.1007/s11999-015-4555-8

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11999-015-4555-8

Schmidt, J., Lu, T., Botle, T.& Vedantam, S. (2018 June 04). The Power Of Judgment-Free Learning. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/04/616127481/when-everything-clicks-the-power-of-judgment-free-learning

Skinner, B. F. (1957). The Experimental Analysis of Behavior. The 1957 American Scientist article, reproduced in full. American Scientist. Retrieved from

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-experimental-analysis-of-behavior

Wikipedia. Clicker training. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clicker_training#:~:text=Clicker%20training%20is%20a%20positive,primary%20reinforcers%20such%20as%20food.

Vetschool Tails. (2019 Feb 15). Clicker training for humans: how immediate feedback improves learning. Michigan State University- College of Veterinary Medicine.

https://cvm.msu.edu/vetschool-tails/clicker-training-for-humans-how-immediate-feedback-improves-learning