Behaviorism

Chapter 9

How would you define successful mastery of your lesson objectives from a behavioral view of learning?

I think I would define successful mastery of lesson objectives from a behavioral view of learning by observing how the student responded to certain stimuli. One of the main assumptions of behaviorism is that "learning involves forming associations among stimuli and responses," as well as, "learning involves a behavior change" (Ormrod). I believe that if you used a classroom management system to frequently monitor students' understanding (i.e. fist five), you could continue to utilize this to see how they behaved regarding certain topics. If all of the students immediately held up all five fingers signaling full understanding, you could assume that they had mastered that topic. If the students were hesitant to put up their hands or only used 1 or 2 fingers, you could assume that they had not quite mastered the topic. This is just a behavior you can utilize during a lesson. Then, obviously, you could measure their mastery on whether or not they could accurately answer a question about it - even if they THINK they've mastered it doesn't necessarily mean they have. They should be able to produce their knowledge and SHOW you that they've learned the material, as well. 

Consider your CSEL intervention case study.  Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case?  What are they?

Elementary Education Case Study

You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner.  You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems.  She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning.  She constantly interrupts others in her group.  She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations. 

Yes. The tools from a behaviorist view for encouraging productive behaviors are to give immediate praise for a good behavior, let the students know of something enjoyable they might receive if good behavior continues, use rewards like stickers (especially that are a subject of interest to the student - cars, etc.), have students complete certain procedures based on behavior (i.e. who gets to line up first), and make class jobs only available to students who have shown good behavior (Ormrod). The tools for discouraging undesirable behaviors are scolding, losing privileges  doing a behavior over again until they do it correctly, time-out, and ISS, etc.  

I think it is also important to take into consideration practices like cueing because if you can get to the root of this issue Lisa is having, you may be able to develop cues between teacher and student to change behavior.