Instructional Strategies and the Behaviorist Learning Theory

Most people involved in psychology and education have heard of the behaviorist theory.  Most people have heard of B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov and maybe even John B. Watson.  Behaviorism is based on classical conditioning and operant conditioning.  Classical conditioning is the study where Pavlov figured out he could establish a conditioned stimulus to produce a conditioned response.  Operate conditioning is the study of reinforcing desired behaviors and punishing undesired behaviors (Standridge, 2002).

Reinforcing effort is a strategy recognized in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works as a “[strategy that] will help students acquire and integrate learning”.  Some students do not realize that the harder they try, the better they will do on assignments.  The authors suggest that teachers explicitly teach that the more effort they apply to assignments, the more success they will have.  They have suggested that you use rubrics and/or surveys to help you to teach your students the importance of effort in their education (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  This is a form of reinforcement.  Instead of just telling students that if they try hard they will do well, the teacher is showing them.  They have a rubric that the students use to assess how much effort they put into an assignment or into a week and record their grade for that week or assignment.  The purpose is for them to notice that the more effort they applied, the better their grade was (Pitler et al, 2007).  I would think that the higher grade would be reinforcement for the student, but I guess if they do not reflect on the amount of effort they put into the assignment, some will never make that connection themselves.  If you wanted to create a rubric based on the amount of effort applied in the classroom, there are websites available that offer you the opportunity to create a new rubric or search ones that are already made.  One of those websites is Rubistar (http://rubistar.4teachers.org/) which has a large amount of rubrics already created in a variety of subject areas. 

Homework and practice is a strategy recognized in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works as a “[strategy that] will help students practice, review and apply learning” (Pitler et al, 2007).  This is where students will get a type of skill and drill for appropriate concepts in the classroom.  This is where students are looking for a type of reinforcement throughout their skill and drill practice to know if they are doing the work correctly or if they need to make some sort of change.  This is where the behaviorist learning theory starts to apply.  As Dr. Orey has stated, operant conditioning has two main concepts.  Those concepts are to reinforce the desired behaviors and punish the undesired (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011).  Students can get skill and drill practice in a number of ways.  They can complete worksheets and receive feedback from teachers or play games online to receive immediate feedback that way.  Technology can provide a fun, interactive way of practicing concepts or skills that may not be that fun.  These “games” can provide students with immediate feedback to whether or not they are correct and sometimes even provide them to the correct answer and why.  Some websites even alter the next question according to the answers given.  For example, as your students get answers correct, the questions get harder.  Similarly, if your students are choosing incorrect answers, the questions become easier.  An example of this site is the IXL Learning site (http://www.ixl.com/math/grades).  This is a site where you need a subscription, but I believe your students can practice 20 problems for free each day.

There are numerous strategies that can be used in the classroom on a daily basis.  They may or may not apply to the behaviorist theory, but the behaviorist theory has a number of ideas that apply to the daily classroom.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Standridge, M.. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/