Behaviorism in Practice

With an ever-growing library of brain research, behaviorism has been a controversial ideology among educational psychologists and institutions. It concerns itself with those aspects of human behavior that are observable and measurable, not considering behavior in terms of the inner workings of the brain but as learned habits. In this light, behavior then can be reinforced to continue or unlearned to be replaced with new behaviors. Despite its controversial roots, behaviorism is an ideology that has been implemented in every classroom with proven effectiveness (Orey, 2001). So it makes me wonder, especially in regards to technology and class management, why the controversy? This is especially curious to me since adults, including those who find fault with this theory, tend to structure their work ethic around reward (money), reinforcement (praise and acknowledgement), and possible punishment (loss of job or ridicule).

Because behaviorism does not consider the impact of brain research within student learning, it cannot be the end-all theory for a teacher, but can woven into daily classroom activity. Dr. Orey (2001) said that “behavioral change happens for a reason; students work for things that bring them positive feelings, and for approval from people they admire.” Effort and achievement are directly correlated, and for a student to put forth the effort, he or she must be motivated by the experiences and opportunities presented in the classroom (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Technology, as can be seen in many resources, can provide incentives, offer rewards for effort, and condition students with immediate and consistent reinforcement to exhibit behaviors that constitute an active, efficient learner.

Class management is an obvious arena in which behaviorism can have a significant impact. All teachers have a discipline policy centering on rewards and consequences. While these rewards and consequences will vary from teacher to teacher, the students are conditioned to understand what behaviors warrant the rewards and those that will bring consequence. Behavior or assignment contracts highlight acceptable behaviors and condition a student to better accept responsibility. Behavior charts, including those that use cards or clips, offer visual stimuli to reinforce or punish behaviors (Laureate Education Inc, 2009). This patterns the studies of B.F. Skinner to bring about desired behaviors.

Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) provide numerous ways that behaviorism is a large part of technology. In reference to homework and classroom practice, technology extends the connection to learning and provides opportunities for continuous exposure to skills and concepts necessary to achieve mastery. Online tutorials present small bits of information, ask guiding questions, and reinforce learning with immediate feedback and correction. Similarly, computer games reinforce learning in the same fashion, but provide added incentives and an ability to track speed and accuracy. Microsoft tools, such as Excel and Word, encourage greater effort through enhanced visual reinforcement and hands-on opportunities. I appreciated an instructional strategy that I read in the book that detailed using spreadsheet software to display actual students’ correlation between effort and success. Showing students data, not just about themselves, reinforces the idea that effort yields success.

Now I'd like to return to this idea of using online games to motivate students to achieve concept mastery. Games, from my experience, are the ultimate tool in a teacher's repertoire of effective strategies. They are more of an incentive for the students that hides the actual learning. The internet has a surplus of resources that can be utilized free of charge. Although there are plenty of free resources, our school purchased Study Island for reading and math practice. The program has numerous diagnostic perks. Also, students are given the option of practicing skills via online tutorial, a worksheet type activity, or an interactive game. I'm sure you can figure out which one motivates them the most and thus is the almost the only one I use. The games are fun, and they can only be played if the students gets the question correct. If answers are chosen too quickly, especially several questions in a row, the program will block the game and suggest that the student is just guessing. This is definitely behaviorism as it conditions the student that the reward of effort is fun activity.

Such practices as multimedia, my personal favorite, keeps “the learner engaged, and provides immediate feedback and scaffolding in order to help the student understand and practice the concept,” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007, p. 193). While this speaks to the inner workings of the brain concerning concentration and active learning, it also demonstrates the behaviorist principle of immediate feedback to reinforce understanding or create new behaviors through application. Students can learn from multimedia websites with interactive simulations or create their own projects to practice concepts. Either way, technology is reinforcing effort with further opportunities to explore and create.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.