There are a lot of ways that the strategies discussed this week correlate with the behaviorist theories. Just the term "reinforcing effort" directly aligns with what a behaviorist would want to see in his classroom. A teacher dedicated to reinforcing effort would be seen praising and providing positive reinforcement and personal recognition to students. A behaviorist would be doing the same things. They would set student effort as their behavior goal and they would attempt to reinforce and promote that behavior through "reinforcing effort".
The same thing happens when one looks at "Homework and practice". Both of those things are distinctly behaviorist practices. They give the students ample time to expose themselves to the material and to drill and practice things.
Behaviorism is a theory that bases its ideas off of reinforcement and practice. Both of the strategies discussed in the materials this week deal with reinforcement and practice. If effort is the goal for your instruction then reinforcing effort is your best bet to promote that. If your students need more time to practice a topic, then drill and practice, possibly during homework, are your best bet.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that reinforcing effort is definitely an example of using behaviorism in the classroom. Many of my students fail to show effort in the classroom. What are some ways you "reinforce" effort in your classroom?
ReplyDelete