Behaviorism in Practice

Every teacher desires to become effective. In order to become an effective teacher we develop a plan for our classroom and our student. This plan includes instructional strategies. These instructional strategies guide how the content will be taught and how our students will learn.  Instructional strategies are also used to guide behavior.  How we teach can determine how our students behave.  When deciding on which instructional strategy to use, teachers must also decide on how to monitor, control, reward, and correct behavior. These factors are a part of the behaviorist theory. The behaviorist theory is composed of two factors; reinforcement and punishment.  Reinforcement is used for positive behavior and punishment is used for negative behavior.

When a child does something wrong, they are punished. The same practice occurs in the classroom; when a student misbehaves in the classroom there is a consequence for their action.  This week Dr. Orey talked about remediation as an instructional strategy and how it is viewed negatively. When a student cannot demonstrate what they have learned we use technology as a form of remediation.  During this stage, students go through online programs and tutorials to learn skills and concepts.  It is viewed negatively because the student has no interaction or engaging experiences with others.  Because they are being forced to sit in a lab on a computer for hours with no interaction with others, students view this as a punishment. However, what they learn is the right behavior promotes effective learning and negative behavior decreases learning which leads to a consequences or punishment.

The other side of the behaviorist theory is reinforcement for positive behavior. For any teacher, this is the most desirable theory to have in the classroom. This form of reinforcement guides students through content questions or small activities where if they do something correctly they are rewarded by moving to the next step or if students are incorrect then reinforcement occurs. Reinforcement can take many forms through the use of technology weather it is practiced in programmed instruction or online tutorials.  These strategies are effective because by completing these activities not only are students engaged but it also gives students the opportunity to demonstrate and practice what they are learning. Positive reinforcement leads to positive behavior.  When student exhibits a positive or learned behavior then they are rewarded weather that reward is given by the teacher or it is a personal sense of satisfaction for the student.  Reinforcement is a better instructional strategy than punishment. The use of reinforcement creates a positive engaging environment for our students which will only enhance their learning experience.

Reference:

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