Behaviorism

What?
Today in class we discussed behaviorism. There are many aspects of behaviorism. One of the aspects include reinforcements.

Reinforcements:
There are 2 different kinds of reinforcements and both increase behavior. Negative Reinforcements take away something to increase good/bad behavior. Positive reinforcements on the other hand add something to increase good/bad behavior. An example given in class that described these reinforcements was a hot air balloon. To make a hot air balloon rise you can do 2 different things. You can add hot air (positive reinforcement) or you can take away sand bags which decreases the weight and allows the balloon to rise.

Punishments:
There are also 2 different kinds of punishments used in behaviorism. Removal punishments
take away something students want such as recess, a fun activity, a toy, etc. Presentation punishments add something such as extra work, visit to the principal, etc.

We also discussed different types of motivation, which included intrinsic (self) motivation and extrinsic (outside) motivation.

The last aspects of behaviorism we discussed were the 2 types of conditioning: Operant conditioning which is voluntary and classical conditioning which is involuntary.

So What?
As a teacher with many students to both teach and manage, understanding behaviorism is important. As teachers, we want students to behave in an appropriate way however we also have their best interest in mind. Understanding behaviorism helps guide is the best way to teach and motivate students. There is the use of token economy's, group contingency plans, and of course, reinforcements. Knowing how to use each of this concepts is critical in ensuring that we better our communities of learning.

Now What?
I found this lesson to be very helpful in clarifying some questions I had as a result of my field experience where a token economy was used and several extrinsic positive reinforcements were used. It was a bit blurry trying to determine what was beneficial and what may have been hindering the students. I have definitely more clear today and have a better idea of how I would like to implement the theories of behaviorism in my future class. I will make every effort possible to teach students to have intrinsic motivation. This is sooo very important and it seems it is something we are losing at a very fast rate as teachers adopt complex token economy systems. I realized through our discussion that a token economy can be used to make class fun - students love them. However when setting them up, I will be sure to make it contingent on a level of performance or behaviors, so students don't lose their natural motivations in specific subject areas.

Another helpful thing we discussed in class was the steps in which to implement each of the different reinforcements to motivate those students who are unmotivated:
First method: Intrinsic reinforcement - self praise
Second method: Extrinsic reinforcement - praise from others
Third method: Activity reinforcement - extra recess, fun activity
Fourth method: Tangible reinforcement - candy, treats, toys
Fifth method: token economy