Behavioral Theories of Learning

Analyze

This week as a class we looked at behavioral theories of learning.  “Learning is usually defined as a change in an individual caused by experience (Slavin, 116).  When we think about learning we (or I) automatically move into the things that I teach my students.  My students come in with very little experience in World Literature and after reading some short stories, a novel, and giving comprehensive background knowledge, I feel that they “learn” the material.  While this form of learning is critical and makes up the fabric of our livelihoods as teachers it is not the only definition of learning. 

Behavioral theories of learning seek to find out why and how we become conditioned to do new things.  Two of the earliest pioneers of this practice were Ivan Pavlov and B.F Skinner.  Pavlov observed how dog’s behavior changed when meat was placed in front of them.  Pavlov’s experiments showed that if you were to take something like meat, which he considered an unconditioned stimulus and pair it with a neutral stimuli, which in Pavlov’s case was the ringing of a bell, then you could ultimately trigger and control a response.  This is apparent in school students everyday with the ringing of a bell for class change.  Although the bell in both experiments is used as a neutral stimuli it is worth noting that trigger different responses.  A bell is otherwise just a sound until the early parts of the school year in which it triggers 1700 students (in my school) to get up and move. 

Skinner’s approach worked with “operant conditioning” which is where subjects are studied based on receiving positive and negative consequences.  Skinner’s experiments worked with a rat who at the press of a button would receive food.  After pressing the button a few times out of curiosity (accidental) the rat learned the association between pressing and receiving a treat.  Another focus of this week’s unit was on reinforcers. Reinforcers are anything that strengthens a behavior.  Our discussion for this week was centered on the idea of a child being sent to the office acting as a positive reinforcer.  Positive reinforcers are what we think of when we think of good grades, special privileges and attention.  Being sent out of the class and to the office is not something that usually falls into this category.  Our discussion as a group was very fruitful in determining that some students may actually seek out the opportunity to leave our classrooms and get sent to the office.

Analyze.

As a group our task this week was discussing why a student would seek out being sent to the office, the fact that it is sought out leads me to believe that it should be considered a positive reinforcer, which is usually occupied by things like good grades and special treatment.  I teach older kids each day, mostly 10^th graders who are between 15 and 17 years old.  I get to see kids truly changing in front of me.  Most change is for the best but not all of it.  I see students who have counted school out for whatever reason.  Most believe they will simply find a job that allows them to work 40 hours a week and go home.  When kids start to believe that they don’t need school they begin to focus their time on ways to get out of it.  Being an English teacher I see this behavior more than I wish, simply because kids who don’t enjoy English as a subject immediately argue with its validity and why they do or don’t “need it”.  Students who see our classes as a waste of time will sometimes act out as a way of getting removed from the environment.  As a teacher I now recognize this as a problem and know that it is something I simply cannot do.  If a student is causing a disruption it is easier to send them out than it sometimes is to deal with them.  What I have learned and must apply is that I would be giving them what they want instead of teaching them that they can’t always get what they want.  To me this unit really stressed the idea of remediation and differentiation.  The idea of reinforcers is that they strengthen a behavior.  I have to be able to modify my instruction and activities in order to allow these students to at least be willing to participate.  If I can tap into something they enjoy (or can bare) then I can use other positive reinforcers like grades and other things to strengthen their commitment to not only my class but school in general.  

Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson.