Behaviorism in Practice…

This week I learned about behaviorism and behaviorist learning theories in a course I am taking in graduate school.  “Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measureable aspects of human behavior.   In defining behavior, behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner” (Orey, 2001).  I teach at a middle school and several behaviorist techniques are used daily.  One example of a behaviorist technique used at my school is something called a behavior card.  It is a contract that the student must get signed everyday by every teacher that he or she has a class with.  The teacher signs a zero, one or two and his or her name to the card.  If the student receives a zero then it means the student was not able fulfill the behaviors listed on the card.  If the student receives a two, then the student was successful in that class for the day.  There are many students that have behavior cards at my school.  I think the fact that I teach at a very low socio-economic school and many of the students do not have any type of structure or support at home is the one of the main reasons for this.  I also believe that this is one of the reasons many of the students are unmotivated and do not put any effort into any of their work. 

One of the instructional strategies I learned this week is called reinforcing effort.  This strategy has to do with getting students to recognize the relationship between effort and being successful.  This strategy relates to behaviorism because it uses technologies such as Microsoft Excel and other data collection tools to help students actually see and chart the relationship between effort and achievement (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  It is a type of positive reinforcement where the students could see that more effort equals more success and less effort equals less success.  The student would increase his or her effort once they could see how it relates to their success.    Another strategy I learned this week dealt with homework and practice.  This strategy also uses technologies such as word processing applications, spreadsheet software, other multimedia, web resources, and communication software to design homework and practice assignments.  This relates to behaviorism as a type of positive reinforcement as well.  Students want and need to learn with technology and through collaboration and these tools allow for that.  These tools also allow for students to chart their success. 

Our school also has a PSIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) program.  Some students’ buy into it and others do not.  What type of behaviorism strategies do you have implemented at the schools you teach?  Do they work? 

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.   

         Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with     

        classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.