Behaviorism is still very much a part of today’s classroom. It is what helps the teachers be able to manage their classrooms efficiently, and focus on preparing lessons that will engage their students. When an educator is teaching, I feel that it is important for them to reinforce the students effort and to provide recognition to the students that have been working hard.
When a teacher is making an effort to reinforce, it will enhance the students’ understanding of the relationship between achievement and effort by addressing their beliefs and attitudes about learning (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012). When the teacher is making a point to reinforce what student is doing, they will be able to then help the students recognize that they can achieve good grades and be successful with their learning. As the students are learning to achieve things within their education, they begin to have a belief in themselves, that they can do really great things, which then help the students actual performance in school. In order for the students to be more successful, they will need to put forth a strong effort in their studies.
Technology has the ability to help the students and the teacher keep track of the students achievements and efforts. The teacher and students can use spreadsheets, graphs and charts to keep track of how they are doing. A teacher can also design a personalized certificate to hand out to the students. By handing out personalized certificates to celebrate the a students’ high quality work is a way to make that student feel appreciated, and can help motivate them to further their success (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).
Another way that behaviorism is alive in the classroom is through assigning students homework and providing them with chances to practice what they have learned. Frequent practice in varied contexts is necessary in order for learning to take places and to have students learn the skills that are needed (Smith, 1999). It is important for a teacher to ensure that the homework that the are handing out is relevant to what the students are learning in the classroom, along with making sure the amount of homework is appropriate. The homework has the ability to help the students to deepen their understanding of the content and will also help them to extend their learning beyond the walls of the classroom (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).
Technology can also be incorporated into the homework assignments. A teacher can assign the students to present a powerpoint to the class, or the students will have to work together on a wiki or blog. Another way that technology can be used in homework is by posting the assignments and lectures on a blog for the students to access. This will be able to help the students check what assignments they missed or what assignments are due, along with listening to the lecture again if they feel they need to.
In conclusion, I think that behaviorism will be around a long time in the classroom. It is up to us educators to decide how much of it we want in the classroom and how to use in the classroom. Using behaviorism in the classroom can help us manage our students better, and it can also help us determine what behaviors we want to reinforce in our students.
Here are some links to check out for behaviorism in the classroom:
http://www.slideshare.net/sarahjarem/behaviorism-in-the-classroom
http://voices.yahoo.com/behaviorism-uses-classroom-3939612.html?cat=4
http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/behavior.htm (This one has examples of classroom activities)
References:
Pitler, H. Hubbell, E. & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Smith, K. (1999). The behaviorist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://infed.org/mobi/the-behaviourist-orientation-to-learning/
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
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3 comments:
I agree—there is still a place for behaviorist learning theory in today’s classroom. In fact, I was surprised, after exploring the weekly resources, how many routines and strategies that I use every day with my students are actually based on behaviorist thinking. For example, from reading about modeling, shaping and cueing (Standridge, 2002), I realize that I model appropriate behavior or thinking strategies for my students’ benefit daily. I can attempt to shape an individual student’s classroom behavior when I institute behavior contracts. Contracts allow the teacher, student and parents to have buy-in on the creation of a document that itemizes small, progressive changes in conduct by the student. The changes in behavior can be rewarded by positive reinforcement (adding a reward to increased positive behavior) or negative reinforcement (taking something away to increase positive behavior). Cueing also assists students in making good behavior choices. Some that I use throughout the day involve reminders to use the restrooms at recess, or to raise a hand instead of calling out. Holding a stack of extra cursive homework in my hand is a powerful behavior motivator, too!
References
Standridge, M. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Lori,
Your comment about when students achieve things, they begin to have a belief in themselves. Isn't that so true even with us adults. I love it when, in our PE classes, a student achieves a goal and then is willing to try something else new because their confidence level is higher. In our classes, these confidence boosting achievements can be very simple such as learning to jump rope. Of course, this only happens if the teacher is using positive reinforcement. I also agree with you that the type of homework should be relevent to what is being taught in the classroom and that the amount of homework should be appropriate for the grade level. I work with our afterschool daycare program and we help with homework. Sometimes, the students have, what I think, is an extreme amount of homework. We are getting ready for PASS testing and one teacher gave test practice sheets, regular homework, and 20 minutes of reading. That student was very frustrated and needless to say we didn't get it all done. Of course, being a PE teacher, I think it is very important to have a healthy combination of an appropriate amount of homework and play time.
Amy,
I was also surprised at how much behaviorism is in the classroom, after review the learning resources. I think that is great that you model thinking strategies daily for your students. I think that will help them with problem solving skills. I feel that it is important to teach the students problem solving skills, as I know it will help them later on in life.
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