I believe the best teachers are
those who have a true understanding of children and how they learn. They are
the educators who know how to motivate students and make them responsible for
their learning. While they may have forgotten the terminology associated with
behavioral theories and principles, they apply the knowledge associated with
them in their classrooms.
This week’s reading was a great
review of the processes involved in learning and the role behavioral learning
theories play in learning. Slavin (2012) states, “These principles are useful
for explaining much of human behavior; they are even more useful in changing
behavior in the classroom” (p.137). The works of Ivan Pavlov contributed the
idea of classical conditioning and B. F. Skinner’s further research contributed
the idea of operant conditioning. Slavin (2012) states that the most important
principle of behavioral learning theories is how behavior changes due to
consequences, with pleasant consequences strengthening behaviors and unpleasant
consequences decreasing the behaviors. I believe we develop an understanding of
this concept early on as children as we receive consequences through
exploration and consequences from parents and teachers. Successful teachers
apply the principle by reinforcing desired behaviors through praise and
rewards. I have had great success with positive reinforcement in the classroom
and find that the more I praise and reward good behavior, the less undesirable
behavior I encounter. I believe this is because students want to do well and
enjoy receiving praise. My ultimate goal is to get students intrinsically
motivated, and I try to use healthy extrinsic reinforcers by using phrases
like, “I like the way David is sharing his strategy with his partner.” I try to
avoid using candy, unhealthy foods, and toys as rewards. I really enjoyed reading
about other examples from Slavin (2012), which include calling home and privileges
such as free time, special equipment, and special roles. I believe unexpected
forms of praise and rewards are greatly appreciated and memorable for children.
After reading Chapter 5, I plan to implement the calling home idea and creating
a place to publicly display student work next year as new ways of praising and
rewarding my students. I was also reminded of some effective methods for
improving behavior through discussion posts this week, which included a
suggestion from Wanda Richerzhagen of using behavior charts to modify
disruptive behaviors. Jonelle Jimison discussed the benefits of behavior
contracts, which help hold students accountable and responsible for their
behaviors. I will keep these in mind for future use as well, and believe these
additions to our class discussions are excellent examples of why teacher communication and sharing is so important in helping our students achieve.
The social learning theory described
in Chapter 5 goes along with behavioral learning theories. Slavin (2012) states
that Social Learning Theory, developed by Albert Bandura, focuses on the
importance of learning through observation and self-regulated learning in four
phases. I believe effective teachers understand this progression of learning
and apply the phases in lessons and learning activities. In my lesson plans I introduce the lesson and try to attract the attention of the
students, which goes along with the first step of this theory, paying
attention. I also model the behavior and give students an opportunity to model
the behavior in their work, which my plans refer to as guided practice. I
typically model with mini-lessons, which are kept short to ensure student
attention, and provide a guided practice opportunity that usually involves peer
support or small group support. Once students are ready for independent
practice, I typically provide a rubric, which allows students to ensure they
are meeting all expectations and help them become responsible for their own
learning outcomes and achievement. This goes along with Meichenbaum’s model of
cognitive behavior modification. As a fifth grade teacher I believe preparing
students as self-regulating learners is imperative, because of the
responsibility level expected of them in middle school.
The information in this week’s
reading was not new to me, but was certainly a great refresher on learning and
behavior and how the two go hand-in-hand. The added input and reflection of
peer discussion provided further insight and I look forward to applying new
methods from peer feedback and from the text in the near future.
References
Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational Psychology:
Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
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