Module 3 Reflections

Behaviorisms and the Beginning of Theories
John B. Watson was believed to be the first to use the term "behaviorism". Behaviorist believes learning focuses on observable behaviors and not mental activity. Learning is defined as new behavior. Behaviorism is built around the idea that a reaction being made is done so to a particular stimulus "dog salivates when he hears a bell". Behaviorist call this type of learning "conditioning". The two types of conditioning are classical and operate. Classical conditioning rewards a natural reflex or other behavior in response to a particular stimulus. Ivan Pavlov is best known for his work in this area. Pavlov used a dog and taught it to salivate anytime it heard a bell. The dog quickly learned when he heard a bell he would receive food. Pavlov created four stages in the process of classical conditioning. The first phase is acquisition. This is the initial phase of learning or when the dog salivates at the sound of the bell. Second phase, is extinction. This phase is used to describe the disappearance of a conditioned response such as food. The thirds stage is generalization. In this stage a child may not show fear to one dog but all dogs. The last stage is discrimination. In this phase a fear may be shown to one type of dog but not all dogs. The second type of conditioning was operate conditioning. This type of conditioning is the most important type in behaviorist learning. This type of conditioning reinforces a behavior by rewards or punishments. When a desired action is presented a child may be given treats or rewards. But on the other hand, if an undesirable action is presented punishments may be given or things may be taken away. The key aspects of operate conditioning are positive reinforcements, negative reinforcements, and shaping. In the classroom behaviorism can be used to reinforce good behaviors such as raising hands and lining up. Rewards for such actions can include praise, stickers, and charts. Critics of behaviorist make two main points while using this technique in the classroom. First, rewarding children for all learning is likely to cause the child to loose interest in learning for his own sake. Second, using a reward system or giving a child increased attention may have a detrimental effect on the class. Skinner found those who benefit most from behaviorist learning are those who were less motivated or had a history of learning.
While reading this article I realized just how much behaviorism is used in the school and classroom today. Many teachers including myself have used behavioristic techniques while enforcing classroom rules and policies. For example, I have had to condition my students to learn when the class bell rings they need to be in their seats with all of their materials and ready to begin class. On the other hand when the end of class bell rings the students are to stay in their seats until I dismiss them. Students are conditioned and know to bring their supplies with them to class. If a student has to leave the classroom they are given a negative reinforcement which is a tardy before they can exit.

Psychology, Instructional Design, and the Use of Technology: Behavioral, Cognitive, and Affordances Perspectives
This article attempts to make a connection between psychology, instructional design, and technology. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior. Instructional design is the methodology for analyzing information toward the goal of learning. Technology is the mechanism for presenting information. Computers, pictures and videos are all forms of technology. Some people say technology is a process and instructional design is a type of technology. Three aspects of psychological thought are the behavioral, cognitive, and affordances perspectives. The behavioral perspective emphasizes the role of the environment, it feels that a change in the environment will result in a change in behavior. Instructional designers who believe like behaviorist focus on controlling the environment to get a desired behavioral response. The cognitive perspective includes consideration of the learner and their performance by taking into account external influences combined with internal influences to determine behavior. The cognitive perspective guided the instructional design in the development of the Sherlock project. The Sherlock was a computer based learning environment and apprenticeship system. In Sherlock, the first phase helps students attempt to find the solution to a complex problem. In the second phase students were able to replay their problem solutions step by step. Students were also able to view what experts would do in each step. Then students were able to compare their performance with that of an expert. The affordance perspective was one that was a reaction to over emphasis of the mind and the under emphasis of the environment. In the affordance perspective environment is also stressed. The environment is available for the person to react to and receive feedback from. The environment does not necessarily restrain or determine a response, but gives the chance for an individual to respond. This article attempts to show how psychology and behaviorism helps direct instructional design. An understanding of psychology and behaviorism helps instructional designers better design instruction.