The behaviorist theories and their relevancy to the clasroom

Natalie Shirley Jackson

Discussion Week 2

“Reinforcement is more powerful than punishment”(Orey). This week I learned from the resources that the behaviorist learning theories are based upon two mechanisms. These mechanisms are punishment and reinforcement. While punishment in the classroom may seem the easiest it is not the most effective.

            Technologies in the schools are known as online tutorials. This tutorial strategy that B.F. Skinner used to refer to as programmed instruction is used everyday in classrooms. These online tutorials allow students to figure the right and wrong ways to get to an answer or piece of knowledge. It is important that we consider technology as a tool instead of a type of remediation for our students. The students need to be learning and not remediating. “Technology is most effective when remediation activities are minimally incorporated”(Orey).

            The online article spoke of the three key assumptions to the behaviorist theory. “Learning is manifested by a change in behavior”(Smith, 1999). This is much the case we see in the classroom of today. We need to allow the students to surround themselves with instructional technology that will be a tutorial to them. In these situations the tutorials will allow the students to find questions and answers themselves. These students will only learn when they are able to find the right and wrong answers themselves.

            “The environment shapes one’s behavior”(Smith, 1999). If the students are in a classroom where they are not able to learn for themselves then the students will not be able to function in a world opposite of that. The technology-induced environment will give the students an opportunity to find answers and learn how to get to that answer. We need not enable our students, but build them up.

As educators we need to remember that hands-on activity is very important in the behaviorist theory and that is the best way for students to learn. If we need to help students understand something we need to be reinforcing the behavior instead of punishing the students.

References

Orey, M. (Photographer). (n.d.). Behaviorist learning theory.

[Print Photo]. Retrieved from

https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=/webapps/blackboard/execute/launcher?type=Course&id=_1342259_1&url=

Smith, K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to learning.

In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from

http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm