Читать книгу Student Engagement Techniques - Elizabeth F. Barkley - Страница 36

Behaviorists view learning as an outward and demonstrable change in behavior that occurs as a result of the positive and negative reinforcement we receive from our actions and experiences. Behaviorists believe that all behaviors can be measured, trained, and changed. Following a behaviorist approach, teachers help students learn by reinforcing the desired learning behavior (such as attentiveness in class, careful and thorough work on assignments, thoughtful and frequent contributions to discussion, and so forth), thereby encouraging students to continue these behaviors. If students are not able to engage in these behaviors immediately, behaviorists believe that students will gradually improve if the correct behaviors are reinforced and less effective behaviors are extinguished through nonreinforcement or, if necessary, suppressed through disincentives or even punishment. For behaviorists, learning activities should be organized to leverage acquisition of content knowledge and skills. Behaviorists tend to believe that:

 Learning is an observable change in behavior.

 Effective teaching strategies include providing students with reinforcement, whether positive (grade bonuses) or negative (point penalties), to encourage or discourage behaviors.

 Repetition reinforces learning, and hence students benefit from multiple opportunities to practice new skills and demonstrate understanding.

 The student's key responsibility is to learn to make the best responses to the learning activities and assignments.

 Learning has happened when students can generalize and apply their newly acquired skills, knowledge, and understanding to new situations.

Our entire educational system reflects the influence of behaviorism through reward systems, such as grades, bonus points, praise, recognition strategies for outstanding work, and so forth.