Behaviorist Reflection

When I first started learning about the behaviorist theory my first thought was negative. To me it seemed like this theory of learning viewed children as animals who could merely be trained through stimulus and response. Students rely on teachers to dispense the knowledge. Children need more than skill an drill practice in order to learn a concept. Skill and drill will help children memorize concepts but in order for children to internalize the concept, active learning must take place. What I do realize now is that the behaviorist view of learning does offer some good and valid points. I have come to this realization through writing my own lesson plan and reviewing the lesson plans written by my group members. In all of the behaviorism lesson that I read, the intended learning outcome was specific and measurable. During behaviorist lessons students are given many chances to review the information taught. When I first heard the words "skill and drill practice" I thought of worksheets. My thoughts on skill and drill practice have now changed. I saw numerous examples of skill and drill practice that did not involve worksheets. Technology is a a wonderful assist when teaching a behaviorist lesson. Technology provides the stimulus and response needed for children to learn and provides it in a motivating way. Through music, graphics, animations and more the computers gets children's attention and motivates them to practice the skills just taught. When reflecting upon the behaviorist theory I realized that I incorporate this type of teaching into my classroom everyday! I will continue applying some of the behaviorist views of learning into my classroom. My future students will continue to practice new skills using their laptops and through group center time worksheets (where feedback is given every 5 minutes). One interesting thing I learned is that behaviorist lessons do not have to be boring. I created a fun behaviorist lesson and read many engaging lessons. Behaviorism allows children multiple exposure and practice to the material being learned. There are numerous fun and engaging ways in incorporate this practice into a classroom.

The most important thing I learned came from the reading and reflection about my own graduate work. Throughout the behaviorist reading another key term that was used a lot was the term immediate feedback. I had heard that term before but never really given it much thought. Children (and adults) want to succeed and be successful. All students want to know if they are correct in understanding the material and being successful. Immediate feedback provides a way for students to internalize their progress. With immediate feedback students are able to self assess if they have mastered the concept of if they need more instruction. It is crucial that teachers provide immediate feedback to their students! Teachers are not the only ones that can provide immediate feedback. Computer websites and software are designed to provide this support as well. Computers will never replace teachers but they can act as a personal tutor. Trying to teach a behaviorist lesson without the aid of technology only makes a teacher's job harder and makes the lesson less effective.

One point that I would like to challenge or question about the behaviorist theory is the lack of higher order thinking skills. When looking at Blooms Taxonomy it seems that the behaviorist view of teaching utilizes mainly the knowledge level of learning. Verbs associated with the knowledge level of learning are: recall, reproduce, recite, identify and tell. All of these verbs can be applied using the skill and drill practice of the behaviorist method of learning. If you look at the apply and analyze levels of learning here are some of verbs mentioned: construct, extend, compare, contrast and research. Following the main principles of the behaviorist view it would be impossible to achieve these higher levels of thinking. As I mentioned before, students merely listen to their teachers dispense the knowledge. Students are not comparing, researching or constructing their own learning. They are learning the information the teacher chooses to give them. Can this be the best way to teach children? I feel that without hand on applications and discovery children will never fully comprehend, understand and internalize the material being taught to them.

First post: this is a test