Behaviorism

By: Melissa,

Alyssa,

Kelly,

Ana,

Satina B.

Bridget

• This theory is the prediction and control of

human behavior in which introspection

and/or independent thinking play no

essential part of its teaching methods

• Behaviorists' see no dividing line between

man and animal

What is Behaviorism?

• Ivan Pavlov

o Behavioral experiments with dogs

o Classic Conditioning - natural reflex

that occurs in response to a stimulus

• B.F. Skinner

o Operant Conditioning- learning in

which behavior is shaped through

reinforcement of

stimulus-response patterns

o Used Pigeons

Key People

• Albert Bandura

o Social Learning

o Focus on motivational factors

and self-regulatory mechanisms

o Believed in Observational

modeling- watching something

and then mimicking the

observed behavior

Key People Continued

• Behaviorism does not take internal or mental factors

into account, only external behavior.

• The theory revolves around the idea that any and all

behavior can be explained and influenced in terms of

rewards and punishments.

• Operant Conditioning: Ones behavior can be

influenced by the consequences of that behavior. If

the behavior is rewarded, it will increase. If the

behavior is punished, it will decrease.

Key Points

• In the Behaviorist classroom a teacher will use a

reinforcement or reward to get students involved.

Example:

Mrs. G asks the class, "Who is the President?" and

whoever answers gets a Snickers.

• Offering rewards for a child such as candy or a better

grade gets the child interested in the subject.

• They have extrinsic goals, they study harder in order

to earn a better grade not because they enjoy

studying.

What the Teacher does?

• Technology is used as a fast reward.

• Students who answer questions online

receive immediate feedback.

• When the answer is correct a student gets a

positive response, either verbally or visually

on the computer.

• They can also see this when playing games

on the computer through the music and

getting on to the next level in a game.

Technology

• As we have seen before, Behaviorism can be

thought of as a form of classroom

management.

• Behaviorists believe that if teachers provide

positive reinforcement, or rewards,

whenever students perform a desired

behavior, they will learn to perform the

behavior on their own.

What the Students Do?

For example:

As we saw on previous slides Mrs. G given

a snicker to the student that response the

answer. Next time Mrs. G will have more

students trying to answer the question as

they want to be rewarded too.

• Students like to be recognize and reward

for all of good action they have done.

What the Students Do

Continued..

• Behaviorism in the class receives almost instant

gratification to the student who is showing desired

behavior which makes it very useful in teaching.

• This method of teaching is apparent in almost all

classroom environments, from tickets earned for good

behavior used to purchase things in a school store to

extra time on a computer for completing an assignment

with time to spare.

• The best part is that students don't realize they are

being coerced to become better students academically

and socially. They enjoy this type of learning

environment.

Behaviorism in the Terms of Our

Own Teaching

• Parents also enjoy knowing their child is being

rewarded for excellence in the classroom. A parent

can become prideful when their child earned 30

tickets that month and purchased a reward with it on

their own.

• The student will brag of their performance at home.

• This kind of reward system can also second as an

evaluation to see which students are understanding

the content being taught and their classroom

involvement.

Behaviorism in the Terms of Our

Own Teaching Cont..

Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2012, November).

Behaviorism at Learning-Theories.com. Retrieved

November 16th, 2012 from http://www.learning-

theories.com/behaviorism.html

Shelly, G.B., Gunter, G.A., & Guter,

R.E.(2012).Teachers discovering computers integrating

technology in a connected world. Boston:Course

Technology, Cengage Learning.

Sadker, D. M.,& Zittleman,K. R.(2012). Teachers,schools

& society brief introduction to education. United States:

McGraw-Hill Companies.

References

Ivan Pavlov.Wikipedia. Retreved November 17, 2012,

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Pavlov

B. F. Skinner.Wikipedia.Retreved November 17,2012,

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B._F._Skinner

Boeree,C.G.(1998).Albert Bandura.Personality

Theories.Retreved November 17, 2012, from

http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/perscontents.html

Classroom Clipart. Retrieved November 17,2012, from

http://classroomclipart.com

Image Sources