Behaviorism in the classroom with technology

Behaviorist learning theory emphasizes changes in the behavior of the learner influenced by a 

positive or negative stimuli (Orey, 2010). If an educator wants a behavior to continue, they will want to reinforce and recognize desired behaviors. Teaching strategies that use behaviorism principles to help students engage include guided practice strategies like drills, regular review problems, and question and answer. These strategies can be combined with technology to give students immediate feedback and the ability to self-pace and improve their learning (ISTE, 2016). Each time a learner receives positive reinforcement for the desired behavior, they will continue to want to do that behavior and, in general, will avoid behaviors that solicit unpleasantness (Orey, 2010).

     Currently, one behaviorist-based instructional strategy that I use is guided practice with review problems. Since I have had limited face-to-face interaction this trimester due to hybrid and distance learning, I have had to adjust how I give feedback to students. I have provided answer keys for homework practice problems and related videos to provide instant feedback to students when I cannot be there with them (Greenwood, 2020). The hope is that the positive feelings from getting an answer correct will encourage them to keep practicing (Pitler et al., 2012). Then even the temporary feeling of defeat of a wrong answer can be erased by the video's guidance, and they will still be motivated to persevere (Razak, 2017). Giving students a grade for quality homework assignments is another behaviorist-based strategy to encourage students to work hard. In the end, the ultimate goal is to form healthy learning and study habits that will help students succeed in the future (Greenwood, 20200). Another strategy is using Google Classroom to provide reinforcement and recognition when I grade their assignments (Pitler et al., 2012). Technology makes it easy to send a quick comment on an assignment or send an email home to family, recognizing a student's efforts. 

     In the future, I would use technology to promote more social interaction between students where they can give authentic feedback to each other to learn from their mistakes (Moorhead, 2014). Designing and facilitating these conversations using technology will help prepare my students for their future post-secondary education or career (ISTE, 2008). Technology can also help me recognize student efforts and accomplishments through websites, blogs, or school announcements. 

     The sources I researched on behaviorism helped me understand more about operant conditioning and think about how my teaching strategies can help students form healthy learning habits (Greenwood, 2020). I am also convinced that although many feel that behaviorism is outdated, those principles are still prevalent in education (Gökmenoğlu et al., 2010). The same feelings that keep athletes practicing, like making the game-winning shot, sinking a birdie in golf, or landing that trick in skateboarding, will motivate students to keep working in academics. The role of the teacher is to find how to elicit that feeling. I think the Hour of Code activity will be an ideal representation of behaviorism. If the actions that the students are taking are correct, then the model will work. If their actions are incorrect, then the model will not work. Each action will encourage the student to continue in the correct direction and stop doing the wrong action. Their behavior will change for the better as they work towards success, but I think the critical factor, as the facilitator, will be to keep them from getting frustrated and quitting. 

 

References

Gökmenoğlu, T., Eret, E., & Kiraz, E. (2010). Crises, Reforms, and Scientific Improvements: Behaviorism in the Last Two Centuries. Ilkogretim Online, 9(1), 292–299.

Greenwood, B. (2020, February 13). What is behaviourism and how to use it in the classroom? Satchel. Retrieved from https://blog.teamsatchel.com/what-is-behaviourism-and-how-to-use-it-in-the-classroom 

International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). ISTE standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-forstudents

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). ISTE standards for teachers. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators  

Moorhead, L. (2014, September 3). There’s no app for good teaching.  http://ideas.ted.com/theres-no-app-for-good-teaching/ 

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2010). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching and technology. Behaviorism. http://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/Orey_Emergin_Perspectives_Learning.pdf 

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

Razak, M. A. A., Mustapha, M. B., & Ali, M. Y. (2017). Human Nature and Motivation: A Comparative Analysis between Western and Islamic Psychologies. Intellectual Discourse, 25, 503–525.