--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many instructional arrangements seem…" description: "\"Many instructional arrangements seem \"contrived,\" but there is nothing wrong with that. It is the teacher's function to contrive conditions under which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/b-f-skinner-4812_arrangements_many-instructional-arrangements-seem-con_1760946.jpg" --- # Many instructional arrangements seem "contrived," but… ![“Many instructional arrangements seem "contrived," but there is nothing wrong with that. It is the teacher's function to contrive conditions under which students learn. It has always been the task of formal education to set up behavior which would prove useful or enjoyable later in a student's life.” quote by B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/b-f-skinner-4812_arrangements_many-instructional-arrangements-seem-con_1760946.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/b-f-skinner-4812_arrangements_many-instructional-arrangements-seem-con_1760946.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/b-f-skinner-4812_arrangements_many-instructional-arrangements-seem-con_1760946.jpg) > “Many instructional arrangements seem "contrived," but there is nothing wrong with that. It is the teacher's function to contrive conditions under which students learn. It has always been the task of formal education to set up behavior which would prove useful or enjoyable later in a student's life.” [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Teachers should deliberately design learning situations that become useful or enjoyable later in life. **In simple terms:** Teachers create useful learning conditions. Key Takeaway Design purposeful learning experiences. Themes education behaviorism learning design Mood thoughtful strategic Type pedagogical practical When to use this quote - classroom instruction - curriculum planning - skill development - lifelong learning Key Concepts Conditioning instrumental learning future utility Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance structure with student autonomy? - When is contriving conditions counterproductive? A Different Perspective May overlook spontaneous curiosity and intrinsic motivation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arrangements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrangements/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Formal education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formal-education/) [Instructional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instructional/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Teacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teacher/) [Teaching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teaching/) ## Related quotes > [When I'm with people, I'm a spiritual teacher. That's the function, but it's not my identity. 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You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-bradford-raschke/the-truth-is-that-once-you-get-down-on-the-trading-floor-you-find/) [Linda Bradford Raschke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-bradford-raschke/) > [My mom and dad, although they may not have had a lot of formal education, they were two of the most brilliant people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-cummings/my-mom-and-dad-although-they-may-not-have-had-a-lot-of-formal/) [Elijah Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-cummings/) > [Formal education must change. It needs to be brought into closer alignment with the world as it actually is, into closer harmony with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-khan/formal-education-must-change-it-needs-to-be-brought-into-closer/) [Sal Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-khan/) ## More by B. F. Skinner > [To require a citizen to sign a loyalty oath is to destroy some of the loyalty he could otherwise claim, since any subsequent loyal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-require-a-citizen-to-sign-a-loyalty-oath-is-to-destroy-some-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A first principle not formally recognized by scientific methodologists: when you run into something interesting, drop everything else and study it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-first-principle-not-formally-recognized-by-scientific/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The problem of far greater importance remains to be solved. Rather than build a world in which we shall all live well, we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-problem-of-far-greater-importance-remains-to-be-solved-rather/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I remember when I was a freshman in college, I was still somewhat bothered by... worried... about religion. I remember going to this professor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-remember-when-i-was-a-freshman-in-college-i-was-still-somewhat/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Those who have had anything useful to say have said it far too often, and those who have had nothing to say have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/those-who-have-had-anything-useful-to-say-have-said-it-far-too-often/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I would be opposed to any kind of totalitarian control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-would-be-opposed-to-any-kind-of-totalitarian-control/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A disappointment is not generally an oversight. It might just be the best one can do the situation being what it is. The genuine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-disappointment-is-not-generally-an-oversight-it-might-just-be-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The simplest and most satisfactory view is that thought is simply behavior - verbal or nonverbal, covert or overt. It is not some mysterious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-simplest-and-most-satisfactory-view-is-that-thought-is-simply/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Behavior is shaped and maintained by its consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/behavior-is-shaped-and-maintained-by-its-consequences/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The alphabet was a great invention, which enabled men to store and to learn with little effort what others had learned the hard way-that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-alphabet-was-a-great-invention-which-enabled-men-to-store-and-to/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [The people who control the condition in which we live have no reason to think beyond more than the next five or 10 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/the-people-who-control-the-condition-in-which-we-live-have-no-reason/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [I am opposed to the military use of animals. I am also opposed to the military use of men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/i-am-opposed-to-the-military-use-of-animals-i-am-also-opposed-to-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [A person's genetic endowment, a product of the evolution of the species, is said to explain part of the workings of his mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/a-person-s-genetic-endowment-a-product-of-the-evolution-of-the/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [Reinforcement is being right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/reinforcement-is-being-right/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [If you're old, don't try to change yourself, change your environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/if-you-re-old-don-t-try-to-change-yourself-change-your-environment/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) [Explore all 105 B. F. Skinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) ## More Arrangements quotes > [for the obvious reason that nature - unadulterated and unimproved by man - is simply chaos. 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