Behaviorism in Practice

The use of technology in the classroom is a strategy that can easily fit into every one of the learning theories. However, I can especially see a correlation between the use of technology and the behaviorism theory. The idea behind the behaviorism theory is that learners respond to environmental stimuli, whether it is positive or negative (www.learning-theories.com). This can range from the physical setting of the classroom to how the teacher and other students interact. This can also include how and when a student is praised or recognized for their work.

In using technology to reinforce positive behavior, which again is the premise and goal of the behaviorism theory, we can more effectively and immediately provide feedback to students (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012). One example of this would be using a classroom response system like Socrative (www.socrative.com) to complete a short multiple choice quiz or questionnaire. The program will immediately and anonymously show the responses of students in a graph format. At the end of the quiz the results can be emailed to the teacher quickly and easily for reference. This would be great as an informal pretest and posttest for a topic or unit. Using a system like this for that purpose could easily show students how their increased efforts throughout their learning can lead to a higher or more positive outcome. This aligns perfectly with the idea of the behaviorism theory. If students receive a more positive outcome, they could see how their behavior or efforts pay off. However, if they see a more negative outcome, they would either determine that they did not put enough effort into it or that they are not capable of the performance level you are trying them to achieve. This is one reason why the behaviorism theory is criticized as it can have some very negative effects on students (www.learning-theories.com). This is also why it is important to determine the best use of praise and recognition.

Another idea is to use technology for providing opportunities to practice newly learned skills. “In general, students need to practice upwards of 24 times before they reach 80 percent competency (Anderson, 1995; Newell & Rosenbloom, 1981)” (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012). Again, in the behaviorism theory, if students start to see positive results, they will be more apt to continue practicing the skill. In my classroom, I use www.freetypinggame.net to assess my students’ typing skills. They start with a base score, which is the first test they complete, then throughout the course they will complete the practice tests on that and other typing websites and attempt the tests again. I provide goals for them to try to reach. My overall objective with this is to get them practicing their typing skills and hopefully show improvement in their time and efficiency. While this might not be a favorite activity of students, it has worked for them in my classroom. I give them the chance to play the practice games and work at their own pace. If a student is getting frustrated with not seeing positive results, I gear them towards the practice games again so they can take a break from that frustration. The behaviorism theory applies when the students both reach and do not reach their goal. Instead of letting them turn towards a negative attitude about typing, I will make sure they take a break from the tests and relax their minds. I also remind them constantly that this is a no-pressure assessment. It does not affect their grades. However, if they reach certain levels of typing, I will reward them in order to keep them motivated to try harder.

I think there is a line we have to be careful of when we are calling on the behaviorism theory. If we praise them for every action they do that is good instead of just the outstanding work or behavior, we could lose the effectiveness of that praise. However, if we don’t praise students enough or for the right things we could see a negative behavior start to form from those particular students. It comes down to knowing your students as individuals and doing what is best for them. We could use all the instructional strategies we want and call upon as many learning theories as we want, but if we are not paying attention to our students and doing what is right for them, we could lose our effectiveness in the classroom.

Resources

“Learning Theories.” 2003. 5 Nov. 2013 <http://www.learning-theories.com>

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