However, it does appear that there is a small place for behaviorism in the classroom today. I do not think that the place for behaviorism is large, but there are a few pieces that seem to fit. Dr. Michael Orey states that operant conditioning has two possible outcomes to behaviors: punishment for undesirable behaviors, and reward for positive behaviors. Dr. Orey continues to state that "reinforcement of positive behaviors is easily the more powerful of the two mechanisms" (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Positive behavior can be just about anything that leads to a desired result in the classroom, from picking up a piece of paper that was dropped on the ground, or going the extra mile by putting in their best effort on an assignment.
Many students do see the results from their effort, however not all students realize the importance of believing in effort (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). We need to make sure that we teach the students about the importance of effort, and make learning meaningful to them. For example, the text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works introduced us to a great tool using Microsoft Excel that can keep track of student effort (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Students are responsible for creating their own spreadsheet, and inputting all information about their effort. They are also required to post their scores regarding any sort of assessment tool. Results are visible to both the teacher and the student, and there student and teacher can make connections. Graphs that are easily accessible to students of all ages can show both educator and student the correlation between the effort that they put in, and the results that they get. At its core, this is a behaviorist principle, as students have some sort of reward for their desired behavior. Students who do not succeed can likely see the correlation between their effort and their results.
Other uses of behaviorism encompass the practice aspect of learning. In other words, behaviorism can help us achieve success in the favorite activity of our students: HOMEWORK! The word itself strikes fear into the minds of our young learners, and the lack of homework completion can sometimes drive their teachers mad. In order for students to complete their work, they first need to know that there is a purpose to the homework that they are doing. The purpose of homework should be explained to students before they begin the homework, and doing this should help to make it relevant. One way to do this is by implementing a homework policy. Sure, just about all schools have a policy in place for completion of homework. However, clear communication with a homework policy gives the students clear expectations on what they can and cannot do (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Again, at its core this is a behaviorist idea. Students can be rewarded for completion of their homework, but at the same time they can be punished for lack of homework completion.
Homework should also give the students timely feedback into their efforts. While homework in our classrooms of today may differ from the ideas of programmed instruction from the mid-20th century, there are some parallels. Immediate feedback for student responses is a key feature in programmed instruction (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008), just as quick responses to student homework is vital for creating some worth to the homework assignment. Homework feedback may not be as immediate as in programmed instruction, but the similarities are there. While the programmed instruction model may not have an overwhelming impact on education today, there are certainly some positives. Online tutorials and other ideas that give students interaction on the Internet give immediate feedback to the learner, and teach them right from wrong. As with all behaviorist approaches though, this process falls short of creating any higher level thinking skills. This is certainly the major factor that behaviorism has not translated well to the 21st century, and newer 21st century skill set.
While it appears on the outside that behaviorism may be going the way of the dodo, there is still room for limited usage of this theory in classrooms. Classroom management, introductory lessons, and homework can all have some sort of behaviorist component. However, educators that want to get more out of their students will likely want to incorporate other learning theories into their lesson designs.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Behaviorist learning theory. [DVD]. Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore, MD: Michael Orey, Ed.D.
Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretica foundations. (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson, Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E.R., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
I find that my 6th graders become a lot more motivated when they too understand the purpose and reasoning behind assignments. If they see the benefit in a real world setting, they are more apt to complete the work. Homework is often times a struggle. When they get home, there are so many other choices of what to do, their last choice is often the repetitive lower level thinking demands of homework. However, there are a lot of online practice that is engaging that doesn't seem like work. If the resources are available, I think it is a good way to practice skills learned in class.
ReplyDeleteI don't think behaviorism necessarily has to correlate with lower level thinking. You can provide reinforcement for higher level thinking. Repetition in needed in order for your brain to make connections. However, the repetition does not necessarily have to be done the same way. There are variations to repetition that caters to different learning styles.
I was thinking about homework...with the movement toward flipped classrooms, where students will be working in the classroom, will Behaviorism be more prevalent, or will the drill and practice still belong at home, while more creative/higher level thinking skills are honed during class time?
ReplyDeleteMary
DeleteI know we've read a little bit about a flipped classroom, but I'm still not exactly sure what this entails. Is it going completely digital? Can you clarify this for me?
Thanks!
Getting students to realize the importance of effort really can be a challenge. Some students come to school each day and put forth all of the effort in the world despite struggling academically while others have the ability if we could just get them to put forth some effort.
ReplyDeleteIn my own classroom we have graphed our effort and homework scores. I even have used a class store system that rewards students weekly for their snip-it or piece paper for a behavior chart, and still some students seem to care less. I know there will always be some students who just don't value education as much as others, but at times teaching students to appreciate and value effort can be an impossible task that I'm too stubborn to give up on....
I do feel that the majority of the thinking that comes from Behaviorism is lower level thinking like you have discussed. It is our jobs as educators to create learning experiences in which students must use their higher level thinking to be successful. In these instances, students are often rewarded for successful completion of tasks, or get negative reinforcement if their efforts were not sufficient. I do believe that creating learning experiences to engage students in high level thinking is easier in some subjects than others, and I also believe that as a whole, many educators (even myself at times) need to put more effort into creating learning experiences that engage students in higher level thinking throughout the school year.
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI agree that although there is a place in the classroom for behaviorism, it is definitely a narrow scope. Because I work with students with significant special needs, it is important that I have a purpose, as well as clear communication, behind everything I do in the classroom. My students need to do be given a task, and be given immediate feedback, and well as positive reinforcement for success. The broad spectrum of ability levels, as well as behavior needs in my classroom, often requires the need for frequent practice and repetition of a variety of skills (both functional and academic). But as you said - once classroom management and introductory lessons are in place, there is not much of a place for behaviorism to thrive. Higher-order thinking requires hands-on learning and a variety of modalities in order for our students to succeed. At it's core, I think that behaviorism will always have some place in the classroom. It is our goal to make sure that we are using it at the appropriate time.
Do you find that you have a need for "skill and drill" (i.e. repetition of certain skills/content) in your geography instruction? It's easy to have students work on rote math facts, etc., but do you find a place for it in your area of specialization?
Scott,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your thoughts on behaviorism in the classroom. In particular, I agree with the fact that the behaviorist learning theory is not the best approach for promoting higher-order thinking skills and is limited in scope. As more of a constructivist myself, I see this as being true. However, it does have its time and place in the reinforcement of behaviors or skills that we are asking our students to learn, particularly through homework or practice in terms of academic material. Using the behaviorist learning theory as a one-size fits all approach to teaching and learning is doing our students a disservice. And I’m not sure that many teachers would use that as their sole means of teaching. Supplementing our teaching with some behaviorist elements, however, can be beneficial in providing our students with the necessary opportunities for practice of skills. Thanks again for your thoughts, Scott.