Teachers and Behaviorism
Teachers who accept the behavioral perspective believe that
the behavior of students is a response to their past and present environments and that all behavior is learned.
According to behaviorists, behavior modification is a form of learning, and it should be the teacher's responsibility
to create an environment in which only appropriate behavior is being reinforced. Inappropriate behaviors
can be modified using behavior modification techniques. Check out your own philosphy of learning and see if you are a "Skinnerian"
at heart. Although a teacher may discover that his/her own personal theory of learning doesn't exactly match
any of the current, popular theories, it is in the best interests of all educators to create and assess a personal learning theory.
Educators need to continually be aware of new research in the area of learning theories and how it applies to our
instruction. If learning is indeed the goal in any classroom, educators need to create an environment that is conducive
to learning.
As a behaviorist Skinner describes the application of behaviorism
to education in this way:
The application of operant conditioning to education is simple and direct. Teaching is the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. They learn without teaching in their natural environments, but teachers arrange special contingencies which expedite learning, hastening the appearance of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly or making sure of the appearnce of behavior which otherwise would never occur. (Skinner, 1968, pg. 64)
Behaviorism is in practice throughout our schools. If one employs behaviorism in the classroom,
it is imperative that it be used correctly. Skinnerian teachers would avoid the use of punishment. Research indicates
that reinforcing appropriate classroom behaviors, such as paying attention and treating classmates well,
decreases misbehavior (Elliot & Busse, 1991), and behaviorist classroom management techniques are often effective
when others are not. Behavioral teaching and learning tends to focus on skills that will be used later. You
learn certain facts about American history because it is assumed that you will make a better adult citizen because
of that knowledge. Behavioral learning does not usually demand that a learner be able to put the skills or
knowledge to use in a "real" or "authentic" situation. It is simply believed that the
learner will be able to do so because he/she has the correct knowledge or skills needed for such a situation. The
breaking down of complex tasks into smaller, more manageable subskills, such as the teaching of reading or mathematics,
is very common in American schools today. Behavioral instruction is primarily "teacher-centered"
as opposed to "learner-driven." The true behaviorist teacher believes that learning is passive
and that students must learn the correct response. The reinforcement for that correct response must be swift
and appropriate. Knowledge according to a behaviorist teacher is a matter of remembering rather than acquiring
information. Understanding on the part of the learner would simply be a matter of recognizing existing patterns.
The concept of behaviorism has been around the educational circles for many years. Some of its philosophy
has proven to be very useful to educators in terms of behavior modification techniques and the place they have
in classroom manangement.