Behaviorism in the Modern Classroom

There are many learning strategies that are currently being used in our classrooms.  But sometimes the traditional strategies are still effective, even more so with current technologies.  When B. F. Skinner was working on behaviorist theory, he created things like System80 to automate the tasks of reinforcing behavior.  While we have updated the technology, there are many programs that are quite similar on the market today to teach us everything from typing to addition to foreign languages.

In my current class, we have been reading "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works".  While most of the techniques in the book do not work particularly well with behaviorism, some of them are excellent examples of how it can still be used in the modern classroom.  For instance, one of the strategies that is discussed is reinforcing effort.  Since that is what behaviorism is all about, it is obvious that behaviorist theory would be of use.  However, the focus in the book is on the students understanding and being responsible for their own effort.  The behaviorist strategy of rewarding desired behaviors, in this case effort, is only the first step.  It is important to show how the effort is actually leads to its own rewards like improved test scores.  This way, the student will be encouraged to continue to demonstrate these behaviors in the future.

The second strategy that we looked at is homework.  The purpose of homework is to reinforce the learning that is done in the classroom.  Students should be using it to deepen their understanding.  There are ways that this can be encouraged using behaviorist theory.  For instance, returning homework promptly with comments is an excellent tool for encouraging the students.  There are also ways that technology can assist students while they are doing homework.  For instance, Microsoft Word has a couple of features that can be used by students to improve their writing at home.  The auto summarize and Flesch-Kincaid grade-level rating applications that are now standard can provide immediate feedback on a paper before it is even turned in.

While behaviorism has fallen out of favor in educational theory because it doesn't take into account the emotions or thoughts of the student, it is still useful in some aspects of teaching, specifically when it comes to quick feedback and motivation of our students.