Chapter 9

What?

Chapter nine discusses behaviorist's views of how learners learn. Behaviorism focuses on how environmental stimuli bring about changes in people's behaviors. Throughout the chapter it focuses on how people's behaviors are influenced by their environment. Learners also observe events and make associations from stimuli and responses. Responses are specific behavior that an individual exhibits, and stimuli is specific objects or events that influences an individuals leaning or behavior. The best learning is when both responses and stimuli occur closely together. The chapter discusses the difference between unconditioned stimulus and unconditioned response. The difference is the stimulus elicits a particular response that an individual does not have any prior learning of, and response is elicited by a particular unconditioned stimulus without prior learning. The chapter also discusses the difference between conditioned stimulus verses conditioned response. Conditioned stimulus begins to elicit a particular response through classical conditioning, where as conditioned response begins to be elicited by a particular conditioned stimulus through classical conditioning. Generalization is also discussed throughout this chapter and is explained as someone gets anxious about writing an English paper and generalize a response that any English assignments make them anxious. Reinforcers are also written about in the chapter and are explained that a person learns consequences of a response that leads to increase frequency of the response. A reinforcer is the act that follows a response with a reinforcer, such as paying attention to the student who is being disruptive in class. The student will learn they will get your attention if they are being disruptive. The premake principle is that learners will do less preferred activities in order to do something they prefer to do. In the classroom teacher also use a token economy to entices their students to do well. This is used generally for grade school students and is less likely to be used in a high school or junior high school environment. The chapter discusses how teacher can reduce and eliminate undesired behaviors such as cueing inappropriate behaviors, setting events and encourage behavioral momentum. punishments for disobeying or students who are unwilling to cooperate the chapter suggests different methods of punishments such as time out verbal reprimands, a response cost, and school suspension.

So What?

The chapter had many different ideas of how to run a classroom efficiently, but it seems this idea of behaviorism is just not implemented well and does not work for all students to learn efficiently. I still am very confused about the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli and how to distinguish them appropriately. Like the unconditioned response comes after an unconditioned stimulus I am unsure how a teacher would ever change that in a student. An example i am petrified of mice. I have a unconditioned response that happens after I see one I first scream breaking everyone's eardrums climb to the highest possible point in the room and try not to faint. The idea of classical conditioning seems like it would be a great way to motivate a student to learn by having involuntary response is acquired as a result of two stimuli being presented at the same time. Teachers could try this approach to learning through using music therapy while they teach their students new math problems or have them do their homework while listening to classical music. The idea of the premack principle is one of the really good ideas that was given in chapter nine. It talks about doing less preferred things in order to do an activity that is more interesting to the individual. Teachers could use this in his or her classroom as a reward system for their students. Teachers could give students the opportunity many different choices on major assignment or give a ten minutes free period at the end of the week for those who are doing their work.

Now What?

I still need to better understand the idea of behaviorism and how it works in a classroom. I need to be able to learn how to correctly identify those who seek attention thought negative ways and that i may be rewarding them for their behavior. As a future teacher I need to learn how to manage a classroom using rewards as well as punishment on a high school level. I do have two small boys and what works for them will not work on a 180 pound seventeen year old boy. I need to learn how to encourage students to learn and help them find the motivation with in themselves to succeed as a student and throughout life. I still need to better understand how to apply classical conditioning in a classroom to be able to promote learning behavior. I need to learn how I as a future teacher could use classical conditioning within the classroom having more than two stimuli to promote learning. I need to do more research on how terminal behaviors could be brought about by a teacher to promote a healthy learning environment through operant conditioning.