EDUC 6711 - Behaviorism in Practice

Behaviorism in Practice 

             When thinking about education today, some people may dismiss the fact that behaviorism still plays a role in our schools and in our instructional practices. When initially thinking about behaviorism and its role in my classroom, I linked it to classroom management and operant conditioning of my students. However, after reviewing various resources and revisiting my initial thoughts, I do see that behaviorism is still alive and well in our instructional practices today. As a direct instruction teacher for middle school special education students, I see how behavioral learning theory can be used effectively to model behavior while reinforcing appropriate conduct and guiding performance through feedback (Magliaro, Lockee, & Burton, 2005). In a broader sense, behavioral instructional practices can be seen in many of our standard practices such as reinforcing effort, providing recognition, and assigning homework/practice.  The information below outlines how each one of these instructional strategies relates to the values of behaviorist learning theory.

Reinforcing Effort

            Effort is such a tricky concept to track and reinforce with students. We have all seen the students who get great grades because they work very hard and often times go the extra mile. But sometimes those students do not always grasp key concepts and skills that demonstrate a true understanding of material. On the other hand, we have seen the students who quickly grasp concepts and deeper meanings but their grades suffer because they put forth no effort or fail to turn in class assignments and homework. Major (2009) believes it is the teacher’s job to motivate students, provide energy in the classroom, establish classroom incentives for success, and display work that shows great effort and improvement (not just perfect scores). Obviously, Major’s ideas about reinforcing effort within a classroom are rooted in behaviorist learning theory principles. Teachers can reward and praise the appropriate, desired behavior, which in this case is the effort and energy a child puts in to an assignment.

            Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn (2012) said effort can be reinforced in the classroom through effort rubrics. Teachers can also have students track and compare effort and achievement through the use of a spreadsheet. And yet another example of reinforcing effort in the classroom would be to have students complete online surveys to compile formal data about effort and achievement to share with the class. One way I reinforce effort is through our class blog. (http://kidblog.org/MrsDerflersClass/) Students post to the blogs at least once a month, and I have a section on their rubric that grades students on effort and participation. It is similar to how we are expected to participate in our discussion board posts for our classes at Walden University. (See below)

                       

Providing Recognition

According to Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn (2012), teachers provide recognition to students as a means of encouraging student involvement while trying to decrease behavior problems. Obviously, praise and reinforcing behaviors is the basis for behaviorist learning theory. In order for recognition and reinforcement to motivate students to do well in the classroom, Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn (2012) believe the following guidelines should be established:

1.)   Praise must be meaningful and sincere.

2.)   Recognition must be related to performance criteria that students can control.

3.)   Goals and standards must be achievable.

One way I provide recognition to my students is through our class blog interactions. First, I take the time to provide recognition to excellent blog posts by commenting on their posts with praise  for their ideas and written communication. I also use that time to provide other forms of feedback for all students about areas of improvement or possible suggestions for future writing assignments.

I also have a bulletin board that shares all blog information. I have pictures of all of my students, the current blog assignment, and a “Blog Post of the Week”. I try to recognize 2-3 individuals per assignment and I print out their blog and post it to the board with their picture. This way, all of my classes can see their response and a picture of who contributed the ideas. Obviously, this praise is also related to attainable performance criteria and goals as students are provided a rubric prior to the assignment. The neat thing to see about the whole process is my students are excited to see whose blogs have been posted on the bulletin board, and I have heard students make comments that it is their goal to have their blog posted on the board in the future. I may take this a step forward and include the blog posts on my personal blog to share with parents and other teachers.

Here is a picture of my Blog Bulletin board. I had to quickly throw something together when I returned from my sabbatical so I would like to make it more creative and colorful when I have some free time.

Assigning Homework/Practice

            We all know the great homework debate in our schools today. Is it effective? Should it be graded? Should it even be given? These questions and more have been discussed ad nauseam in faculty meetings, school board meetings, with parents, and in professional development courses. Whatever one’s beliefs are about homework, providing practice time for students is a must. Marzano (2010) includes “practice and application” in his list of general principles for effective teaching. He said ample practice time is necessary to acquire learning and to apply that skill to a new concept or application. Pitler, Hubbell, and Kuhn (2012) recommend the following guidelines when providing practice opportunities for students:

1.)   Clearly identify and communicate purpose.

2.)   Design practice sessions that are short, focused, and distributed over time.

3.)   Provide feedback. (p. 169)

When looking at those key recommendations, feedback is essential for students to understand the concepts and correct errors. Again, the idea of feedback and reinforcing the behavior (in this case it is simply the student choosing an answer) displays the basic principles of behaviorist learning theory.

            In terms of my teaching practices, I struggle with assigning homework to my special education students. Often times they need teacher assistance and struggle to complete the work. Other times, their family or home environment is not all that supportive of school in general. So, I mostly provide practice opportunities in class. BrainPop is a great web site that can be used to reinforce skills (through the videos) and practice various concepts after lessons and activities have been completed in class. (http://www.brainpop.com/) I have also found hundreds of iPad applications that students can use to practice skills at the end of a lesson. A few helpful iPad applications that I use with my learning support students are: Super Speller, Sushi Monster (math facts), Bluster (vocabulary), Verb Mayhem, and StatesNCaps.

Overall Thoughts

            Obviously, behaviorism still has its place within today’s school systems. As with any instructional practice or teaching strategy, it needs to be implemented with careful planning while also taking into account the needs of each individual student within in class. What may work one year may not work the next, and what may work for one student may be a roadblock for another. The great thing about education today is there are so many tools and technologies available to address the needs of each individual. Therefore, there should be no reason why students cannot learn and be successful.

References

Major, M. (2009 April).  Building a culture of achievement. Education Digest. 74(8), 24-28.

Magliaro, S. G., Lockee, B. B., & Burton, J. K. (2005). Direct instruction revisited: A key model for instructional technology. ETR&D, 53(4), 41–54.

Marzano, R. J. (Ed.). (2010). On excellence in teaching. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2^nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.