Wednesday, November 7, 2012
The strategies that were discussed this week in the resources focused on reinforcing effort and homework and practice. Other strategies that were discussed dealt with managing behavior in classrooms and remedial drill and practice work for low achieving students. All of these strategies fall into the behaviorist learning theory as they use the idea of operant conditioning. Operant conditioning revolves around two main objectives: reinforcing desirable behavior and punishing undesirable behavior. When teachers reinforce effort, they are rewarding desirable behaviors in students. This can be done through verbal praise, privileges, or other tangible rewards. Students then learn that if they repeat the good behavior, they will receive a reward. Behaviorists believe that this is how learning takes place. The homework and practice strategy really focuses on having students repeat what they've learned through drill and practice. The behaviorist learning theory claims repetition is an extremely powerful learning tool. Frequent practice in necessary for learning to take place based on the behaviorist model. Managing student behavior can be done effectively using the behaviorist strategy of operant conditioning with rewards and punishments. Again, the good behavior is rewarded while the bad behaviors are punished with consequences. Remedial work with the low achieving students in an effort to boost test scores or ratings is usually accomplished through drill and practice programs that also follow the behaviorist model.
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Your explanation of operant conditioning is clear and concise.
ReplyDeleteYour choice of phrasing makes it seem that you are not convinced by behaviorist theory in its entirety. Are there parts of it that you find useful; and, equally, are there specific parts you have doubts about?
I too have been successful with some use of the behaviorist strategy in my third grade classroom management plan. I have, however, experienced students who do not respond to rewards and punishments. I see you are a fifth grade teacher; do you have suggestions for alternative management plans?
ReplyDeleteThank you Lisa! I do have some doubts, but I think the model applies well to behavior management within a classroom. I like the idea of positive reinforcement to promote good behaviors. My doubts lie in how the model is applied to learning content. I am not convinced that using positive and negative reinforcement will cause a student to learn something like map skills. I think learning content, like map skills for instance, is more likely to take place if meaningful connections are made within a student's mind and if they can apply what they learn to real-world situations. Students need to see value in what they are being taught, not just if they are right or wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi Caroline, thank you for your post. My classroom management strategies use a lot of the behaviorist strategies. I have individual rewards and consequences, and also whole class rewards and consequences. This makes it nice so that even if a student doesn't respond to their individual plan, they usually will respond to the class plan as the other students in the classroom provide a bit of pressure on whoever is misbehaving.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem I have seen with the idea of rewarding positive behavior and punishing bad behavior, is that we begin to encourage the bad behavior if their is no balance. Many of our students at my school have come to use with the condition, "I'm only important if I'm in trouble." I then have to adjust the approach of having them do what I ask and need, I do not punish and ignore the unwanted behavior, and make a big deal about them doing the right thing. Now, I do not completely ignore the unwanted behavior, I take time to build relationship with the student and explain why they should not being doing whatever it is that they believe they need to do to receive attention. All in hope to change their conditioning from "I need to be in trouble to matter" to "I am capable of doing great things because someone believes in me."
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