Instructional Strategies and Behaviorist Theory

All teachers use behaviorism in their classrooms whether it is through instruction or through changing a student's behavior. Dr. Orey states that behaviorism is focused on operant conditioning which as two components; reinforcement and punishment. The first, reinforcement, can be done through effort. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski state that "the instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students' understanding of their relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning" (2007). The first strategy that was discussed was a spreadsheet that students used to correlate their effort on a particular assignment. I can really see the benefit of using an assignment like this with my students. It gives them immediate feedback on how well they are doing and lets them see the correlation between effort and grades. It also allows them to see the consequences of not putting forth enough effort to reach their goals.

Another strategy discussed this week was through the use of homework and practice. I strongly believe in homework but only as a reinforcement of what we have done in class. I try to never assign my students anything that we haven't already gone over and discussed and I usually try to give them a few minutes at the end of class to get started in case they have any questions. One of the strategies presented this week was with the use of Microsoft Word. I have had my students use Word before but not as a research tool. I can see how that would be beneficial for them to just open up a side window and search what they are looking for. Again it is immediate and gives them the right information they need to continue with the assignment. As I continued to read the next strategy got me thinking about how I could include that in my class. At my school all math students are required to complete a certain number of objectives on a program called Accelerated Math. The teacher assigns the students the objectives and they work at them at their own pace. The objectives are based on what the students are learning in class and the program continuously pulls from other objectives to continue to reinforce those concepts. The problem becomes that the students wait until the last minute to try and get all of their objectives mastered. By having students set up a spreadsheet that had columns for practices, assignments, tests, and mastered objectives the students could plot their effort and see what they need to change in order to master all the objectives required.

I have used the Behaviorist theory on reinforcement and punishment each year in my classroom to curb unwanted behaviors but I never thought of using it to gain motivation and effort in my students where instruction and curriculum was concerned.

References:

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.