Learning Views

Behaviorist Vs. Cognitive By: Brian Carlson, Shylah Bowling, Nicole Fraser

Behaviorist Theory (John B. Watson & B.F. Skinner)

Began in the 20th Century stemming from scientist Ivan Pavlov and his Operant Conditioning theory. When born your mind is a tabula rasa or a blank slate. Behaviorism places emphasis on an external behavior being reached due to repetitive actions. Praise is given for good habits and immediate correction is given for mistakes. Also referred to as a Problem Based Learning (PBL) environment. Students work with peers, engaging in the learning process and receiving positive reinforcement of their behaviors. If students lack engagement, focus and provide negative contributions they receive negative reinforcement from the teacher. Teacher is the dominant role of the classroom; decides what is right and wrong. Learning process is not allowed and creates a superficial learning process. Assessments based off external behavior, no emphasis on internal events (thinking/emotions). Believe in the nurture versus nature aspect. Ones environment is the determining factor of intelligence, temperament, and personality characteristics.

John B. Watson [1878-1958]

American psychologist: established psychological school of behaviorism. Born in South Carolina and attended Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Anti-social, insubordinate, but a hard-working student. Entered college at age 16 and left with his masters degree at 21. Studied philosophy under John Dewey. Published is article Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It aka the The Behaviorist Manifesto in 1913. Watson was considered a radical behaviorist. Worked towards psychology no longer being the study of the mind but rather focus on individuals behavior.

B.F. Skinner [1904-1990]

Born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania and attended Hamilton College in New York. Received PhD from Harvard in 1931 and remained a researcher there until 1936. Chair of the psychology department from 1946-1947 and then became a tenured professor in 1948. Radical behaviorist, felt humans did not possess freedom or dignity. Negative reinforcement was not the same as punishment. Invented the Operant conditioning chamber (Skinner Box). Placed rats in a box and observed their behaviors. Thought teachers needed to learn better ways in which to teach.

Cognitive Psychologists Views on Learning

Cognitive psychologists believe the focus should be on the changes in knowledge. They think of learning as an internal mental process. Transforming significant understandings we already have rather than simple acquisitions written on blank slates (pg 43).

Cognitive View Continued

Most important aspect that learners bring to situations is their own knowledge. Having background/prior knowledge allows the mind to be open to more knowledge.

Psychologists

Lev Vygotsky Zone of Proximal Development: refers to the cognitive functioning of the learner from the point where a learner cannot solve a problem alone, but can succeed with guidance (pg 43). Jean Piaget Assimilation-realizing that their prior knowledge may be different from what they learn now Accommodation-accepting new knowledge Jerome Bruner Scaffolding-teachers determine what kinds of help and when to give that help their students.

Constraints of the Behaviorist Approach to Education

Systematic rewards and punishments can be counter-productive to real and meaningful Learning. Students are human beings capable of full, dynamic, creative potential NOT mere automatons to be programmed. When students are aware of the methods of manipulation, they can rebel against authority.

Affordances of Behaviorist Approach to Education

Teacher/Facilitator can control the materials, lesson plan and classroom environment and steer students toward Learning in specific content areas. In certain areas of Education (Autism, Developmental Disability, Behavior Issues) behavioral fluency training and frequent student monitoring can produce positive results as students progress through increasingly difficult tasks and curriculum. Programs such as CABAS (Comprehensive Application of Behavior Analysis to Schooling) apply frequent prompting and consequences to student academic responses (Greer, 1994). Instructional materials and lesson plans can be designed to assure the clearest possible presentation lessons according to academic standards. Applied Behavior Analysis (+/- reinforcement, consequences, stimulus control) can be implemented to create the ideal classroom environment.

Does this idea of rewarding / punishing students (conditioned compliance) actually produce significant learning?
Ironically, our system of rewarding students for academic achievement devalues the very thing we say we want: learning. We send an alarmingly clear message, even if it is unintended: `If it werent for the reward we our offering, what we are teaching you would not be worth learning. In short, a system of education based on rewards and punishment is fundamentally anti-educational. (Sullo, B. 2007. Activating the Desire to Learn).

Carl Rogers ~ The Model of Experiential Learning

Discouraged by the emphasis on behavior and cognition in education, Rogers believed that education and personal therapy shared the similar goals of personal change, internal motivation for growth and self-actualization. He believed that the highest levels of learning needed to have meaning and that students could adapt to change attitudes toward learning, evaluate the means of learning, and adapt their learning styles to best fulfill their needs for positive growth. Rogers (1983) outlined qualities of effective and meaningful educators: 1. Realness The teacher should present genuineness and engage in direct, personal encounters with the learner. 2. Prizing the Learner Acceptance and trust of the individual student. The instructor must be able to accept the fear, hesitation, apathy, and goals of the learner. 3. Empathic Understanding The instructor can understand the students reaction from the inside (Rogers, 1983. Freedom to Learn for the 80s).

Motivation from the Inside Out:

Internal Control Psychology
William Glasser, 1988. Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom.

Students are internally motivated, not driven by forces outside of their control. The outside world only provides us with information to be processed, analyzed and responded to. When students feel that their successes or failures are the result of forces outside of themselves they will act in irresponsible ways. Reliance on external control produces a student who is unable/unwilling to accept personal responsibility. Personal power is to be gained though understanding, achievements and competency. A good school environment encourages student participation in a responsible way building community, mutual respect, freedom of choice and personal enjoyment. Students can change their behavior (and abandon unhealthy emotional states) by taking full responsibility for their lives. Once students discover that their behaviors represent a choice they are making, they become free to make more effective, responsible choices and gain more personal power.