Chapter 9

What?
Chapter 9 is about Behaviorism. Behaviorists define learning as semi-permanent change in behavior. This definition is advantageous since it is very measurable. The disadvantage of this definition include prior knowledge is not being taken into consideration. An analogy given in class is this: think about when the teacher puts up a PowerPoint and a slide contains a black box. Students are waiting for the teacher to start the video since this is what happened previously. However, there is nothing going to be played...it's just a box.
The main points of the behaviorism theory are 1)influence of the environment, 2)focus on observable events, 3)contiguity (which is the occurrence of two or more events at approximately the same time) of events, 4)similarity of learning principles across species (Pavlov's dogs), and 5)learning as a behavioral change.
Classical conditioning is the pairing of stimuli resulting in an involuntary response. Operant conditioning is where a response increases in frequency as a result of being followed by reinforcement. Reinforcement is the act of following a response with a reinforcer (consequence of response that leads to increased frequency of the response). Punishment is a consequence that decreases the frequency of the response it follows. So reinforcement is always increasing the frequency of the response and punishment always decreases the frequency of the response. Negative reinforcement brings about the increase of a behavior by the removal of a stimuli. For example, in your car there is a loud buzz/dinging when the key is turned on. Drivers must put on seat belt in order for the the sound to stop. Thus, the buzz/dinging is a Negative Reiforcer for putting on a seat belt. Another example would be studying for an exam to avoid getting a poor grade. The low grade is the NR for studying. Keep in mind that reinforcers are unique to each student and always encourage behavior. See page 316 of the text to see how development affects reinforcement.
Some keys to using reinforcers are:
1)specify the desired behavior, 2)personalize reinforcers, 3)make conditions of reinforcement explicit, 4)use cueing (the use of signals to indicate that a certain behavior is desired or that a certain behavior should stop), 5)be consistent, 6)monitor progress, 7)reduce reinforcement (ex: "today might be the day that I check for homework completion"), 8)promote intrinsic motivation. Only use reinforcers with subjects/concepts that kids are bored with. If the students are already intrinsically motivated-don't use reinforcers! Some practical reinforcers include but are not limited to: self-reinforcers, social reinforcers, grades and recognition, home-based reinforcement, privileges, activity reinforcement, etc.
When eliminating behaviors don't be afraid to tell students what you're doing. Beware of the "extinction burst!" Don't forget that it tends to get worse before it gets better, don't set a new baseline that you then have to try and conquer. Always use cueing to encourage positive behaviors.
There are some potential problems that can occur when using punishers: they are temporary, may distract the student form behavior, and can cause negative emotional responses or aggression. Punishment doesn't illustrate the correct behavior.
So What?
It's very important that teachers are aware of the reasons behind their students' behaviors. Teachers and students need to be able to communicate with each other in a non-threatening atmosphere. This topic is important to me as a future teacher because I need to be able to get my students to perform in a certain way and have a manageable classroom.By knowing how students are motivated and why they do the things they do, I can better understand them and how to react and act towards them.
Now What?
If I teach high school, I don't know how much of a reinforcement that I will use in my classroom. However, I did have a high school teacher that gave out coupons that could be redeemed to turn in a late homework assignment. We received these coupons for various things during the year. Some kind of system that is simple like is probably a good idea for my math class where there are numerous homework assignments. As I spend more time in the high/jr high school settings, I will be looking for different ways that teachers reinforce behaviors for different grade levels.