Exploring theories of Exploring theories of learning - Behaviourismlearning - Behaviourism

Last weekLast week

Why do teachers need to know about theories of learning?

Learning styles – uses and problems?

Outcomes Outcomes

You will be able to.. Define a behaviourist approach to

learning Describe how behaviourism can be

applied to your own teaching Evaluate behaviourism in terms of

application to your own practice

BEHAVIOURISM COGNITIVISM HUMANISM

LEARNING THEORIES CONTINUUM

WatsonThorndikeSkinner Gagne

PiagetBrunerAusebelDewey

NeillMaslowRogersKolb

Teacher controls Student controls

Objective model Process model

Easily measured Not easily and evaluated measured

Teacher needs to use approach best suited to the students and organise accordingly.It may be a mixture of approaches will be most appropriate.

But for now; the Behaviourists…But for now; the Behaviourists…

Do not look for the “underlying cause” of behaviour

View the learner’s mind as a “blank slate”

(Classical approach) View behaviour as the result of conditioning

(when you learn 2 things are associated) View learning as a gaining of new

behaviours

PavlovPavlov’’s Dogs Dog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=R4kDmkXwU2khttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=R4kDmkXwU2k

WatsonWatson’’s Contributions Contribution

First used the term

“behaviourism” (1913) Applied the animal experiments

of Pavlov to human behaviour Scientific explanation of behaviour

(observable cause and effect) Behaviour explained in terms of Stimulus

and Response (S R)

The Skinner BoxThe Skinner Box

Watch the following…….

Dog = student! Key phrases – look out for these on

screen What does it tell you about the role of the

teacher and the student?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AML-JVLfYFE

Watson (1878 - 1958)Watson (1878 - 1958)

“Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed, and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.”

Watson, John B (1930) Behaviorism. University of Chicago Press.

Reinforcement or PunishmentReinforcement or Punishment Reinforcements: increase the probability of a behaviour

being repeated. Reinforcements can be either positive (pleasant) or negative (removal of unpleasant)

Punishments: decrease the likelihood of a behaviour being repeated. Punishments are unpleasant consequences.

Note pleasant and unpleasant consequences are subjective

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4muo6jXzLX8

A bit more human in their approach – thought that the human mind selective NOT just a response. Learning must be driven by

goals and targets, so need

Logical learning sequence Opportunities to apply learning Highly structured learning with planned

rewards and feedback for reinforcement Cagne – start with lower order and

move to higher order

Neo-behaviourismNeo-behaviourism

Behaviourist LearningBehaviourist Learning18501850’’s onwards - overviews onwards - overview

Originated in research into animal behaviour

Emphasis on demonstrable and measurable learning outcomes

Gives clear focus and direction to lesson planning

Mainly relates to learning of skills Pavlov, Thorndike, Watson

Behaviourism – some key Behaviourism – some key conceptsconcepts

Learning by association / reinforcement Conditioning Shaping behaviour – manipulative? Stimulus and response Habit forming Can be controlled by external environment – by

the teacher The more frequent and repeated the response

the better the learning

What does it mean for my What does it mean for my teaching?teaching?

Practice should take the form of question (stimulus) - answer (response) which expose the student to the subject in gradual steps

Require that the learner make a response for every step and receive immediate feedback

Try to arrange the difficulty of the questions so the response is always correct and hence a positive reinforcement

Ensure that good performance in the lesson is paired with ‘reinforcers’ such as verbal praise, prizes and good grades.

Give feedback frequently and quickly, especially when

the learning is new. Supply rewards less often later

List what you want them to learn at the start of a session

Arrange materials in steps

Negotiate completion times for work and attach a reward to it

Job of the teacher is to reinforce the ‘correct’ response while discouraging the ‘wrong’ response (R and W)

PavlovPavlov’’s brickwork student (as brickwork student (a poor poor example!example!

Before conditioning - “what do I do with these bricks?”

After Conditioning - “Nice wall!”

How might these students have been ‘conditioned?’

Some criticisms of behaviourismSome criticisms of behaviourismDoes not account for….Does not account for….

free will and internal influences such as moods, thoughts, and feelings

other types of learning, especially learning that occurs without the use of reinforcements or punishments

adapting behaviour when new information is introduced, even if a previous behaviour pattern has been established through reinforcement.

What happens when they don’t get rewarded?

Can you reduce complex human behaviour to such a simple analysis?

Your Criticisms?

Another view http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl

ayer_detailpage&v=R-Ez5YXezxE

Influence:Influence: Huge influence upon the development of

curriculum in the UK and elsewhere Led directly to the development of the

outcome/product models of curriculum Developing measurable learning outcomes a

direct result of this approach Vocational courses in particular but education in

general Appeals to government, managers, regulatory

bodies Gets rid of vagueness

What about your own life What about your own life experiencesexperiences

Do you have any strong stimulus > Do you have any strong stimulus > response stimuli?response stimuli?

What to do with all of this in What to do with all of this in your essayyour essay

Describe the main characteristics of behaviourism and how it was developed – make this to the point (I don’t want hundreds of words on it)

How do you use this approach in your teaching? Give precise examples

Why is it appropriate for your subject specialist area?

Why do you use this approach What are the issues/problems with the

approach What (if anything) will you do differently as

a result of what you have learnt on the module?

Your re-capYour re-cap And your definition is………………….?

“The term behaviourism refers to the school of psychology founded by John B. Watson based on the belief that behaviours can be measured, trained, and changed”

(Kendra, C. 2013)

Someone elseSomeone else’’s recaps recap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=CB_T-vPzQKk

In class activitiesIn class activities

So itSo it’’s all about conditioning or s all about conditioning or changing a students behaviour changing a students behaviour

by providing stimuliby providing stimuliRead the explanations of these key elements to Operant Conditioning:Operant conditioningReinforcementPunishmentShaping Stimulus control

NOW take one each and explain it to the rest your group – NO help from me

Activity Activity

Think about your own teaching and learningThink about your own teaching and learningexplain to your group what you do to condition your learners/get the ‘right’ response from them (no electric shocks allowed) – use specialist terminology from the handout

e.g. how do you start a class, how do you get attention, how do you get them to work in groups or on a task?

Try this activityTry this activity

Do you want maths or English?Do you want maths or English?

Activity in your teamActivity in your teamIf you don’t do it I’ll make you stand in the corner

Work in your team to complete the activity sheet to complete the first 3 columns on the activity sheet