Behaviorism TIPR
THE QUESTION: "How does the teacher use behaviorist techniques (e.g., shaping, Premack Principle, token reinforcement systems, etc.) to help students learn? Cite specific examples and be sure to include a reference in your response. How do students respond to this instructional method? *Note: this question refers to learning rather than motivation."
Mr. J teaches US History to juniors and CE US Government and Citizenship to seniors. He and I have sat down many times and talked about classroom management. He is a firm believer in routine, a form of classical conditioning. He firmly believes and has stated that if students know exactly what to do and what's coming next then there aren't behavior issues. He uses the example of having a substitute come to class and being instructed by the students on what comes next because the students have basically been conditioned and know what to expect.
Mrs. O is little less structured in her classroom. She has told me that she does use something like the Premack Principle in her class, but from what I've observed she is not consistent on it. To understand more about what the Premack Principle is, go to this website: http://www.iloveaba.com/2013/01/the-premack-priniciple.html. So I've seen Mrs. O promise if they get through the scheduled plan for the day, then the students can play improv games. However, it appeared this was mostly used as an afterthought rather than implemented from the beginning of the lesson. I would hope after observing this that I can be more structured, for example knowing that a certain lesson is going to be difficult for students to get through that I could schedule out 10 minutes at the end of class and a promise to play the dating game at the end if everyone focuses and works hard.
My mother is also a teacher and though I have not sat and observed her classroom she recently related a story that fits perfectly into the Premack Principle and behaviorism. My mother teaches a boys choir and often struggles with maintaining their attention. Recently she discovered a behaviorism tactic to help them be immaculate in their behavior and increase their attention to her instruction. March Madness was her promise to these students. If they would be immaculate (she did use the word immaculate and made them look it up in the dictionary when they asked what it meant) in their work and attention for one week she would allow them to watch one of the NCAA tournament basketball games in her choir class. It worked. Her students sang and stood and were quiet when she was teaching for an entire week. They may have even learned something. She said they were dumbstruck when they were actually presented with the reward for their behavior. For this middle school age group, the Premack Principle was responded to with great success.
Mr. J teaches US History to juniors and CE US Government and Citizenship to seniors. He and I have sat down many times and talked about classroom management. He is a firm believer in routine, a form of classical conditioning. He firmly believes and has stated that if students know exactly what to do and what's coming next then there aren't behavior issues. He uses the example of having a substitute come to class and being instructed by the students on what comes next because the students have basically been conditioned and know what to expect.
Mrs. O is little less structured in her classroom. She has told me that she does use something like the Premack Principle in her class, but from what I've observed she is not consistent on it. To understand more about what the Premack Principle is, go to this website: http://www.iloveaba.com/2013/01/the-premack-priniciple.html. So I've seen Mrs. O promise if they get through the scheduled plan for the day, then the students can play improv games. However, it appeared this was mostly used as an afterthought rather than implemented from the beginning of the lesson. I would hope after observing this that I can be more structured, for example knowing that a certain lesson is going to be difficult for students to get through that I could schedule out 10 minutes at the end of class and a promise to play the dating game at the end if everyone focuses and works hard.
My mother is also a teacher and though I have not sat and observed her classroom she recently related a story that fits perfectly into the Premack Principle and behaviorism. My mother teaches a boys choir and often struggles with maintaining their attention. Recently she discovered a behaviorism tactic to help them be immaculate in their behavior and increase their attention to her instruction. March Madness was her promise to these students. If they would be immaculate (she did use the word immaculate and made them look it up in the dictionary when they asked what it meant) in their work and attention for one week she would allow them to watch one of the NCAA tournament basketball games in her choir class. It worked. Her students sang and stood and were quiet when she was teaching for an entire week. They may have even learned something. She said they were dumbstruck when they were actually presented with the reward for their behavior. For this middle school age group, the Premack Principle was responded to with great success.
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