Download Reflective Practice – Week 3 Behavior Management Observable

Reflective Practice – Week 3
Behavior Management
Observable and measurable objectives are a key principle of behaviorism. What are the
outcomes that you want to achieve? What evidence would you accept that the
Positive behavioral change had taken place?
For Johnny the desired outcomes include; Johnny raising his hand when wanting to contribute to
class discussions or ask a question, staying in his seat unless asked otherwise, concentrating on
tasks in an aim to complete them as best as possible, reducing the distraction he causes in the
classroom. It is also a desired outcome that the other class students respond positively to
Johnny’s improved behavior and stop encouraging his distractive behavior. Evidence that the
positive behavioral change had taken place may include; an improvement in both the amount
and standard of work completed by Johnny, a general reduction in calling out in class, evidence
that Johnny is adopting such behaviors as putting his hand up in class and an overall
improvement in class concentration as a whole. In order to achieve these desired outcomes one
must examine how certain reinforcements and punishments in the classroom environment shape
behavior (Skinner and Gange). A teacher must adopt strategies that ‘shape desired terminal
behavior’ and ignore undesired behavior. Through shaping teachers will promote the learning of
complex behaviors’ by reinforcing successive approximations in the terminal behavior.
(Snowman, 2009, p. 233).
2. Could operant conditioning techniques play a role in enhancing this student's performance?
Operant conditioning refers to the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of
behavior. (Wikipedia). Operant conditioning focuses on the modification of ‘voluntary behavior’.
Skinners theory, operant conditioning, takes as its starting point that many of the voluntary
responses of humans and animals are strengthened when they are reinforced. (Snowman, 2009,
p. 227).Operant behavior is maintained by its consequences. Through Operant conditioning
organisms learn to operate their environment in order to obtain or avoid a particular
consequence (Snowman, 2009, p.221). This technique could assist in enhancing Johnny’s
performance as it aims to ‘shape’ desired behavior. By adopting strategies that reinforce positive
behavior students such as Johnny can learn to modify disruptive behavior and other students
also begin to identify a difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Operant
conditioning may assist Johnny in learning to respond or not to respond to certain stimuli
because his response is followed by desirable or adverse consequences. (Snowman, 2009, p.
228). The technique of operant conditioning can sometimes fail if a disruptive student does not
respond to or is unaffected by certain consequences for behaving badly. Presenting punishment
and removal of punishment should be used in conjunction with one another.
3. How would you assist Johnny to change his behavior by identifying effective reinforces
for him? And how could these reinforces be used to shape his approach to learning?
• Ignore all calling out in class by all students not just Johnny
• Actively answer all questions Johnny asks when he raises his hand and fail to answer when he
does not raise his hand. (Presentation punishment).
• Adopt certain punishment strategies such as Johnny missing out on something for certain
repetitive disruptive behavior e.g. no free time if he continues to call out in class. (Removal
punishment).
• Constantly encouraging any work Johnny completes and positively reinforcing good work.
• Remark positively when Johnny does the right thing, e.g. ‘thank you Johnny for raising your
hand to ask that question’.
• Measure your desired outcomes.
• Make your desired outcomes achievable.
• Select the target behavior.
• Select positive reinforces.
• Select potential reinforces.
• Reinforce successive approximations for the target behavior each time they occur.
• Reinforce the newly established target behavior each time it occurs.
• Reinforce the target behavior on a variable reinforcement schedule.
4. What type of consequences do you think would work in this situation - presentation
punishment, removal punishment, positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement? (see figure
7.1 of your reading chapter 7).
All forms of consequences would be effective in Johnny’s situation a combination of all would
improve his behavior. Time out is a simple behavior consequence that would work in this
situation as it punishes by adding an unpleasant time-out environment rather than the more
positively reinforced stimuli of the natural setting. However, one must consider the cost of lost
learning time when this strategy is used too frequently. (Snowman, 2009, p. 231). When
adopting certain consequences in the classroom it would be essential for the teacher to;
• Ensure consequences are used equally in the classroom, all students must be punished in the
same way for their behavior, and certain students must not be favored or targeted for no
apparent reason.
• A set of appropriate behavior standards is set and clearly presented to the class.
• The class as a whole should not be punished for one individual’s behavior.
• Punishment must be fair and positive reinforcement must be adopted.
• Consequences should be appropriate.
5. What schedules of reinforcement would you recommend? Why?
I would recommend a Variable interval schedule. Variable interval schedules reinforce after
random time intervals, a variable interval delivers reinforcement at no particular time since the
previous reinforcement given but averages out to be a predetermined interval. (Snowman, 2009,
p. 234). I would recommend this schedule because although reinforcement is not given at the
exact same times it is still coherent and consistent in nature. This schedule allows students to
learn what type of behavior is acceptable and what is not acceptable in the classroom. Through
this schedule students may still be unaware of how good their behavior is as reinforcement is
random this promoting continuous good efforts from students and it encourages them to strive
towards good behavior. This schedule might help to keep students in their seats in a lesson
requiring close attention to the teacher (Snowman, 2009, p. 234).
6. What might be the limitations of applying behavioral learning theory here?
Behavioral learning may present such limitations as they can often be misused (Snowman, 2009,
p. 233). Behavioral learning may also vary from teacher to teacher causing confusion and lack of
consistency in punishment and consequences. Other limitations of applying behavioral learning
theories are; students may eventually catch on to the fact that they get reinforcement only when
they do what the teacher wants them to do and behavioral modification methods, because of
their potential power, may lend themselves to inappropriate or even unethical uses.
References:
Snowman, J. Dobozy, E. Scevak, J.Bryer, F. Barlett & B. Biehler (2009) Psychology applied to
teaching,(1st Australian ed). Milton: John Wiley & Sons.
Freeman, A. Kazantzis, N. Reinecke, M. (2009) Cognitive and behavioural theories in clinical
practice. Australia:Guilford Publications.