The following are a few letters written by Paula Korus and her students
from a North Central High School Senior Psychology class.
Basil and I visited her classroom for a presentation on
operant conditioning via clicker training!
From the Teacher:
Dear Carol,
Thank you so much for taking the time to come to our class. You are a wonderful speaker with wit and a command of language - it was fun just to hear you talk. The information you shared was just perfect for our class. I've got your phone number and address - you can bet I'll be calling again!
Thank you!
Paula Korus
The Students Write:
Thank you for all the time you spent with out psychology class helping us
better understand our study of operant conditioning. I was especially interested
in your views on positive and negative reinforcement. This not only helps
us if we have pets of our own, but gives us a better understanding on how
to reach people in general. I wish you all the best of luck in your future
training and in the success of your business.
Angela Gaddis
Thank you for coming to our psychology class on Thursday. When you work with Basil, it made me even more interested in psychology and how certain behaviors can be controlled by a sound or movement. Thanks a bunch!!
Sincerely,
Lisa Clark
I really enjoyed your presentation. I went home and tried it with my Rotts. I too, am really glad that someone has found a different way to train dogs without fear. Keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Jessica L. Norto
I'd like to thank you so much for coming and speaking to my class on Friday. Your presentation with Basil was very informative as well as fun. I particularly liked the part when you used the clicker to show us how operant conditioning worked - I did not know that you could use it to end a behavior. It was such a cool experience that now I'd like to train my own dog!
Sincerely,
Heather Honeycutt
Thank you for coming to my class to show us about operant conditioning. I really enjoyed learning how dogs can learn to behave without being yelled at. I also learned that operant conditioning will work on animals other than dogs. Thank you for coming to my class, it was great.
Sincerely,
Vicki
I want to personally thank you
for bringing Basil in to our class. I thought it was so cool how you could
take a totally foreign object (a desk) and have him experiment with it.
This is exactly what we are learning about operant conditioning. I am also
taking some of your ideas and applying them with my cat, Smokey. They are
really working. Once again, thank you so much.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Tiarks
Thank you for bringing Basil in to show to our class. I found your presentation very informative and amazing. Your method of positive re-enforcement training is by far superior to what I've seen before. Several of my family members are into breeding and showing dogs, but they've always used negative re-enforcement training. The dogs are very obedient, but they live their lives in fear. Basil seemed to be very happy and content. I wish I could go back and teach my past dogs with your methods.
Nathan Ewing
I appreciate the time you took out of your day in order to speak to us about your job and Operant Conditioning. I got to further my knowledge on the subject and learned about the different types of conditioning. Before your speech I couldn't decipher the difference between the multiple types of conditioning. You spoke in a manner that was easy to comprehend and I want to thank you for this.
Brent Woodfield
Thank you for taking time out of your day to bring Basil to show us how Operant Conditioning works on animals. I thought it was something that your dog would pay so much attention to you that the noise outside our door didn't distract him from what you were doing with him. I think you did and excellent job on training Basil and on the presentation. Keep up the great job! Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Leilani Wills
Thank you for coming into our class last Thursday. Basil was awesome! You're a very good trainer. The "click" training looks like the best way to teach an animal tricks. My favorite was when Basil walked sideways, that was so cute! When he reacted to the chair, I thought it was cool, how he had to touch different spots, it was a great example showing that animals have a mind and think with it, and use it. It's a wonderful way for shaping someone or thing. I wonder how well it would work on people! Thank you so much for coming in, it was a fun and learning experience!
Lisa Holmquist
I thought your presentation was excellent. I learned a lot more about how I will train my dogs in the future. Clicker training seems to be a great way to have effective training sessions and learning experiences for Basil. When you let Basil explore and find a creative way to learn, I could see the dog think. This enables the dog to not be stuck in the norm of sit, down and rollover.
Wesley Perez
