Module 3
Chapter 7 in the Woolfolk text focuses on many behavioral learning theories along with how this can impact the classroom. With giving learning a definition, which is the process in which the experience actually causes a permanent change in knowledge or behavior, Woolfolk lays the groundwork of the different theories that are presented (262). These behavioral theories that are explained and terms that are presented I have learned before in my past psychology and other courses these were relevant in. There was one word that I have not come across before which was contiguity, which is the "association of two events because of repeated pairing" (264). When I learned about classical conditioning back in the day this term was never paired with this form of behavioral learning, but I think it really ties it all together. The textbook references the Mountain Dew commercial that ad executives created to produce a Pavlovian response. We learned about this in my Marketing courses at Loyola and the research behind it showed that this was not beneficial in terms of commercial time, but I can see the science behind it still being somewhat beneficial. Sparking some type of response when someone sees a can of Mountain Dew on the screen and the crisp notes open when the can opens is one that cannot be replicated.
One aspect of Chapter 7 that always confused me was the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment. The article we read for the forum post this week "Punished by Rewards" also brought these two behavioral strategies up. Negative reinforcement is the act of removing something in order to increase a behavior whereas punishment is something that actually weakens a behavior. The article was not a fan of either of these but Kohn did not offer anything to replace this other than make the content engaging enough for the students to want to do something. That's where I have a problem with the article and utilize positive or negative reinforcement and punishment when I work with students and young children. It seems difficult to change something that has always been the case. For example, rewarding young students with stickers or positive feedback for a task they do not necessarily want to do, the Premack Principle. Obviously, there runs a risk of these not becoming useful after too much use, but I would imagine switching the types of positive reinforcement up or altering the ways would help.
When putting all of this together, I do find it necessary to list goals and the ways to meet those goals in order for the behavioral theories to be effective for the students. The contingency contracts that the textbook references were an interesting use of effective communication with students. Laying out exactly what will be given and when for specific activities I could see being beneficial.
As Chapter 13, Managing Learning Environment, a teacher's classroom philosophy and rules is extremely crucial at the start and throughout the whole year. Asking the reflective questions to yourself like the book offers is needed in order to create an encompassing philosophy that can be used throughout the whole year. The difficulty I have found with this is that the students each year change. Therefore, classroom philosophy and rules may need to change along with the students. Revisiting these key aspects of the classroom year after year will only benefit all of the students that come throughout the years. The book differentiates between rules and procedures, where the rules are the specific dos and don'ts whereas the procedures are cover administrative tasks, housekeeping, and other routines. I could see this being extremely beneficial among high schools students where the differentiation could be the best use of these different requirements in the classroom.
One aspect of Chapter 7 that always confused me was the difference between negative reinforcement and punishment. The article we read for the forum post this week "Punished by Rewards" also brought these two behavioral strategies up. Negative reinforcement is the act of removing something in order to increase a behavior whereas punishment is something that actually weakens a behavior. The article was not a fan of either of these but Kohn did not offer anything to replace this other than make the content engaging enough for the students to want to do something. That's where I have a problem with the article and utilize positive or negative reinforcement and punishment when I work with students and young children. It seems difficult to change something that has always been the case. For example, rewarding young students with stickers or positive feedback for a task they do not necessarily want to do, the Premack Principle. Obviously, there runs a risk of these not becoming useful after too much use, but I would imagine switching the types of positive reinforcement up or altering the ways would help.
When putting all of this together, I do find it necessary to list goals and the ways to meet those goals in order for the behavioral theories to be effective for the students. The contingency contracts that the textbook references were an interesting use of effective communication with students. Laying out exactly what will be given and when for specific activities I could see being beneficial.
As Chapter 13, Managing Learning Environment, a teacher's classroom philosophy and rules is extremely crucial at the start and throughout the whole year. Asking the reflective questions to yourself like the book offers is needed in order to create an encompassing philosophy that can be used throughout the whole year. The difficulty I have found with this is that the students each year change. Therefore, classroom philosophy and rules may need to change along with the students. Revisiting these key aspects of the classroom year after year will only benefit all of the students that come throughout the years. The book differentiates between rules and procedures, where the rules are the specific dos and don'ts whereas the procedures are cover administrative tasks, housekeeping, and other routines. I could see this being extremely beneficial among high schools students where the differentiation could be the best use of these different requirements in the classroom.
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