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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper/essay that addresses use of behaviorism in the college classroom. As Russell (2002) points out, educators search for the environment and teaching approach that is “ideal,” that is, which aids students in learning efficiently and effectively. One of the principal approaches to creating the “ideal” learning environment, which dominated much of the teaching that occurred in the twentieth century, is the behaviorist approach. This examination of behaviorism, first of all, defines this model of instruction, but then considers whether or not behaviorism is appropriate to today’s college classroom. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
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5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khbehcol.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the principal approaches to creating the "ideal" learning environment, which dominated much of the teaching that occurred in the twentieth century, is the behaviorist approach. The following examination of behaviorism,
first of all, defines this model of instruction, but then considers whether or not behaviorism is appropriate to todays college classroom. Behaviorism, while it is associated largely with the
work of psychologist B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), has ancient roots, as Aristotle recorded observations between stimuli and subsequent human behavior. In the early twentieth century, the Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov explored
the nature of classical conditioning with his famous experiment in which dogs were conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, and this laid the foundations for the behaviorist
school of psychology. Skinner, building on this foundation, based his theories for education on behaviorist conditioning and the goal of causing changes in observable behavior (Mergel, 1998). As this
suggests, behaviorists hold the view that the mind is analogous to a "black box in the sense that response to stimulus can (only) be observed quantitatively" (Mergel, 1998). This position
totally ignores the factor of thought processes and regards them as unknowable. It is concerned only with changes in observable behavior. Unlike his predecessors in the behaviorist school, Skinner
focused on operant rather classical conditioning (Mergel, 1998). Operant conditioning refers to "voluntary behaviors used in operating in the environment," rather than the involuntary behaviors produced by classical conditioning (Mergel,
1998). Operant conditioning strategies include: 1. Positive Reinforcement or reward: Responses that are rewarded are likely to be repeated. (Good grades reinforce careful study.) 2. Negative Reinforcement: Responses that
allow escape from painful or undesirable situations are likely to be repeated. (Being excused from writing a final because of good term work.) 3. Extinction or Non-Reinforcement: Responses that
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