Ivan Pavlov and B.F. Skinner are two guys that stand out in my mind when I think back to my Psychology courses and education theories course I had taken back in “The Day”. The dog and salivation experiment has never been forgotten; nor has the rat pushing the lever to get his food reward.
Even though, my preference of learning theory leans to the Constructivist Theory, I can see some positive outcomes with the Behaviorism Theory. I do feel that the Behaviorist theory has its place in education and in our classrooms. In fact, as I reflect back on my days in school, I vision the Behaviorism theory being the primary way we (as students) were taught to learn. I do not feel this is a bad theory at all. There were fewer disciplinary issues and a great deal of students that did learn from positive and negative punishment, as well as, positive and negative reinforcement as defined by this week’s reading on Behaviorism (Orey, 2001). It is a no brainer that a positive and/or negative reinforce are going to increase the likelihood of the student continuing to do his homework, staying seated in the class, not talking while others are speaking, taking notes and being on task in the future because the student is being rewarded for that particular behavior (Orey, 2001). As James Hartley suggests, the student’s reinforcement for a certain behavior is the big motivator (Smith, 1999).
Through this week’s readings along with other literature I have read in years past, it is so obvious that Behaviorism does positively impact classroom management, as well as, some ways for the student to actually learn standards and elements in classes. Going beyond using the Behaviorism theory as a good classroom management tool, Behaviorism is also displayed in some technology applications. For instance, our school allows students to take online courses (only after they have failed this course once before) that provide tutorial sessions for each lesson. At the end of the tutorial, the student is given a quiz over what the student has learned. If the student answers a question correctly, he is instantly given a reward of some form of animated graphic “way to go”, “congratulations”, “and great job”or“on target.” The drawback to these programs are the student uses this program every day for the entire school year and at the high school level, those graphic animations really are not much of a positive reinforcer. In the media segment, Dr. Orey suggest that the educator should use this type of application in moderation ( Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). I do feel drill and practice is essential especially in math. Just like a basketball player wishing to improve his jump shot. It takes hours of drill and practice to improve his skill. Therefore, using some of the math technology programs only going to strengthen the student’s skill in math. Lastly, technology can keep the learner engaged and active in his/her learning process. James Hartley mentions that activity is important in the learning process (Smith, 1999).
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Retrieved from
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
Smith, M. K. (1999) 'The behaviourist orientation to learning’, the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm, Last update: May 06, 2012.
http://lori-baerne.blogspot.co http://baernelori.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=R0gHODcBAAA.cJn1qXttkjv2a7aDN-T-JA.G78m6Uvg0mQmJ2l-sp42qw&postId=9205468399466465972&type=POSTm/2012/05/behaviorism-in-classroom-by-lori-baerne.html
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI too tend to lean more towards the Constructivist Approach but feel the Behaviorist Theory does have a place in current education. I like your comparison of mastering skills to perfecting a jump shot in basketball, now only if our students could see the same connection.
I found the statement about using remediation technology software in moderation interesting. We have programs such as READ 180 and Systems 44 that helps our students who are one or more grade levels below in regards to reading and these programs have shown great gains in students reading ability. However, at the same time, the computer work is only one of three stations students participate in each day during their 90 minute reading block, it is not their entire means of instruction.
I value technology as a tool to provide recognition for students' efforts and abilities. The immediate feedback can really help keep students from creating "bad habits" or practicing doing something wrong for so long that it becomes hard to unlearn. We must carefully select our technology supports to meet the needs of our students and their developmental levels. My principal really pushed for us to adopt EnVision Math this year and just talked about how great the tutorial videos are. My 5th graders HATE them as they are more of a kindergarten level and they feel like we think they are babies. So even though technology software can be a great way to perfect certain skills, not all programs are created equal and will be effective for each age group.
we too have the Read 180 program as a 52 minutes class for all freshman and some sophomores. I really do not know much about the reading aspect of things. I am a co-teacher specifically in Math. I will tell you, that it has been enforced (for the last two years under the principal) that if a child fails an academic class once, he will not only repeat that course ONLINE ONLY, but at the same time, he will go on to the next grade level Math class. It spells a good deal of concern for me and my Special Educ. Dept. but on the other hand, students taking these online courses have to learn self-discipline, motivation and how effort plays into success. Several of these students that have had to take online course were behavior issues in the classroom. So, I do agree with the idea of why put them back in the classroom with students that are learning this particular math for the first time. The behavior student should not infringe on the learning of those students that really want to learn!
ReplyDelete