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Allan Nilsen
4492542
Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Behaviourism Reflection
This essay will give a brief overview of behaviourism as a learning
theory. It will give practical examples of how a behaviourist approach to
education can be used in the class room. As at the time of writing this essay,
having not received a placement in any school, the examples contained
within are theorised.
Sellars, a social philosopher describes behaviourism as a worldview
that operates on a principle of “stimulus-response” (1963, p. 22).
Behaviourism’s roots lies in some psychologists attempt in understanding
human behaviour objectively. These psychologists believe that psychology
should concern itself with the observable behaviour of people and animals,
not with unobservable events that take place in their minds (Watson 1913;
Skinner 1984) Behaviourists believe all behaviour can be explained without
the need to consider internal mental states or consciousness and is caused
by external stimuli which are described as conditioning (ibid).
Experiments by behaviourists identify conditioning as a universal
learning process. There are two different types of conditioning; classic
conditioning and behavioural or operant conditioning with each producing
its own different behavioural patterns (Domjan 2014, p2). Classic
conditioning occurs when a natural reflex responds to a stimulus. We are
biologically “wired” so that a certain stimulus will produce a specific
response. One of the more common examples of classical conditioning in
the educational environment is in situations where students exhibit
irrational fears and anxieties like fear of failure, fear of public speaking and
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general school phobia (Atherton, 2013). Educators need to be aware of
these types of conditioning. The phobias may be difficult or impossible to
overcome and so should be approached in an away that includes the student
in class activities rather than exposing them to these fears.
Operant or behavioural conditioning occurs when a response to a
stimulus is reinforced (MacLeod 2008). Basically, operant conditioning is a
simple feedback system. If a reward or reinforcement follows the response
to a stimulus, then the response becomes more probable in the future.
Leading behaviourist Skinner argued that rewards and punishment control
the majority of human behaviour (1978). Operant conditioning principals
reinforce good behaviour with a reward, and discourage bad behaviour with
a punishment (ibid). Operant conditioning can be powerful and useful aid
in teaching. However teachers must be consistent in following through with
rewards and punishments. Otherwise they can lose their effectiveness as
tools for controlling behaviour (Atherton 2013).
A major criticism of behaviourism as a learning approach is that it is
considered "superficial" as the focus is on external changes in behaviour
and is not interested in the internal processes of learning which leads to
behaviour change and has no place for the emotions involved in the process
(Chomsky 1959). It can, however, be applied to an understanding of
unintended learning. Everything which happens in a classroom between
students themselves as well as between teacher and students reinforces
some aspect of behaviour (Atherton 2013). Behaviourism’s positive and
negative reinforcement techniques can be very effective in the classroom. It
application lies mostly at the micro-level; largely to issues of class and
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Approaches to Teaching and Learning
student management, rather than to learning cognitive content. This essay
will now focus on how feedback with regard to behaviourist techniques can
be applied in the classroom.
Feedback is useful at a cognitive level, but from a behavioural point
of view, feedback has to be so close to the specific bit of behaviour that
there is no doubt as to what it applies to (MacLeod 2008). Forms of
feedback include positive and negative reinforcement and forms of
punishment.
Positive reinforcement is when behaviour is rewarded with a
pleasant stimulus; e.g. rewarding with positive verbal feedback or letting
students not do their homework. Negative reinforcement is when a
behaviour is rewarded by withdrawing an unpleasant stimulus; e.g. ‘if
students have finished their homework they don’t have to stay in over
lunchtime.’ In the case of rewarding students by giving them less
homework or letting them out of class early this may reinforce the negative
connotations that homework and class/school is a bad thing.
Reinforcement can be given continuously such as rewarding the
behaviour every time it occurs or intermittently reducing the rate at which
rewards for a particular behaviour are given. The important question for
educator to ask is whether as teachers we are always reinforcing the
behaviour they wish to promote, or whether they are unknowingly creating
more problems. Most of the time a teacher's nod of approval, supporting
comment on a student's contribution, or simple "well done" is an
appropriate reinforcer. This type of feedback also has problems as what
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Approaches to Teaching and Learning
counts as reinforcement for one student may be a deterrent for another. If
the student does not respect you, then your approval will mean nothing.
Also if your approval is experienced by the student as patronising, or
teacher approval is mocked by other students it may have the opposite
effect to that was intended and instead act as a punishment.
Punishment is aimed at weakening or deterring ‘bad’ behaviour
(Skinner 1978). Positive punishment is when an unwanted behaviour results
unpleasant stimulus; e.g. giving a detention. Negative punishment is
withdrawing a pleasant stimulus, e.g withdrawing laptop usage. Contrasting
punishment with rewards can be an effective tool when implemented
properly.
An approach to student learning which has its roots in behaviourism is
called applied behaviour analysis (ABA) (Alberto & Troutman 2006). It is
often used with students who have learning difficulties and is helpful for
early to middle year high school students who have not fully developed
their independent learning skills (National Research Council 2001). The
following explanation and examples of the components of ABA
demonstrate how, at the micro-level, a behaviourist approaches may deal
with issues of class and student management. These components of ABA
are shaping, task analysis, chaining, and cueing, prompting and modelling
(Alberto and Troutman 2006).
Shaping is working towards the target behaviour by reinforcing small
components of this behaviour until you reach the desired target behaviour.
e.g. Independent reading  Students have books in mind to read  getting
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these books in a timely and orderly fashion sitting back at tables
quietly continue to read quietly for set amount of time. At each stage
positive feedback should be given to students who are competing these
small components.
Task analysis breaks the tasks into a series of smaller steps to aid in the
tasks learning. e.g. Create a mind mapPick a topic that is interesting and
relevent  write that topic in the middle of the page  write ten words
around this word that have to do with the topic,  draw lines from these
words to the topic word write on these lines a description of how these
words are connected to the topic
Chaining is where an action is in a sequence or chain of actions which is
both a reinforcer of the previous action and a stimulus for the next action.
For example, when students are waiting quietly to enter a classroom a
teacher may reinforce that by saying "Okay you may enter the clssroom."
The actual reinforcer is the entering of the classroom itself. The cue to go
through
the
door
reinforces
the
polite
waiting.
Chaining is especially relevant in the mathematics field where problems are
needed to be solved through a step by step process, whith each step building
upon the one before it.
Cueing uses a specific stimulus is to obtain the preferred response.
eg. Giving a clear commanding instruction which is always used when
wanting to obtain a certain response. “Right! Year 8’s pens down, laptops
and books closed. I want everyone looking and listening to me as I have
something important that you all need to pay attention to.”
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Approaches to Teaching and Learning
Prompting is when a teacher gives hints to assist in obtaining the
preferred response. e.g. giving the hint ‘its begins with P’ to the question
‘what is the capital of France?’
Modelling demonstrates the preferred response so that the modelled
behaviour will be copied e.g. Putting your own hand up while stating that
you will only answer those who have their hand up.
These examples may seem simple and obvious to some educators
but it is often the simple and obvious tasks which take up a teacher’s
classroom time. By exploring how behaviourism can be applied through
these various techniques this essay has shown how behaviourism may be
applied in the classroom in developing worthwhile learning activities. This
essay by explaining behaviourist theories, and including its limitations, as
to how students learn and behaves gives teachers some tools in managing
and preparing lessons for their classes.
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Reference List
Alberto, PA & Troutman, AC (2006). Applied Behavioral Analysis for Teachers
7 th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall
Atherton, JS (2013) Learning and Teaching; Behaviourism accessed April 15th 2014 from
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/behaviour.htm Under Creative Commons License: Attribution
Non-Commercial No Derivatives
Chomsky, N (1959) “A Review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior" Language, 35, No. 1, 26-58. Accessed 31st
of March http://cogprints.org/1148/1/chomsky.htm
Domjan, M (2010). The Principles of Learning and Behavior: Chapter 1Background and Study for the Learning
of Behaviour pp1-28, Stamford, Cengage Learning
McLeod, SA. (2008). Classical Conditioning. Accessed April 15th from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/classical-conditioning.html
National Research Council (2001), “Educating Children with Autism. Committee on Educational Interventions
for Children with Austism. Catherine Lord and James P. McGee, eds. Division of Behavioral and Social
Sciences and Education. Washington, D.C. National Academy Press
Phillips D.C. &. Soltis J.F (2009), Perspectives on Learning, Chapter 3. Teachers College Press
Skinner, B. F. (1978). "A Brief Survey of Operant Behavior." B. F. Skinner Foundation.
http://www.bfskinner.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/A_brief_survey_of_operant_behavior.pdf downloaded
March 31st
Skinner, B.F. (1984). "The operational analysis of psychological terms". Behavioral and Brain Sciences 7 (4):
547–81. doi:10.1017/s0140525x00027187. Retrieved April 2 nd 2014.
Sellars, W. (1963). “Philosophy and the Scientific Image of Man”, in Science, Perception, and Reality, New
York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 1–40
Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the Behaviourist Views it. Psychological Review, 20,158-177.