Learning Theories, Motivation And Engagement Constructivism And Humanist Approach

Behaviourists regard behaviour as a response to a stimulus; pioneering the belief that internal cognitive processes are unnecessary when explaining behaviour. This view is supported by the behaviourist John Locke who proposed that children are born as ‘blank slates’ (‘tabula rasa’) whereby children are shaped by experience (Neaum, 2010). The behaviourist approach assumes that the process of learning is the same in all species; therefore concluding that human and animals learn in similar ways. Early behaviourists include Edward Thorndike, Edward Tolman and Edwin Guthrie conducted experiments on animals, under carefully observed conditions (Collin, 2011). However the three theorists, most associated with behaviourism are: Ivan Pavlov, John Watson and B.F. Skinner. These theorists identified two types of associative learning: classical and operant conditioning; these methods underpin the behaviourist perspective.

In Psychology learning is seen as a change in behaviour caused by an experience. Behaviorism, is seen as a learning theory; an attempt to explain how people or animals learn by studying their behaviour. The Behaviourists Approach has two theories to help explain how we learn, Classical conditioning and operant conditioning. In this task I will attempt to describe and evaluate this approach.

Skinner’s reinforcement experiments conducted on rats showed the principles of operant conditioning. While working with rats, Skinner would place them in a Skinner box with a lever attached to a feeding tube. After multiple trials, rats learned the connection between the lever and food, and started to spend more time in the box procuring food than performing any other action. He used positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement to produce or inhibit specific target behaviors. Therefore, if a specific behavior is reinforced then the probability of that behavior occurring again is increased. Based on Skinner’s view, this theory can be applied to learning because learning is nothing more than a change in behavior. Operant conditioning encourages positive reinforcement, which can be applied in the classroom environment to get the good behavior you want and need from students. One of the ways of reinforcing a student’s behavior is through praise. Also teachers can build operant conditioning techniques into their lesson plans to teach children possible skills as well as good behaviors. For example: to give a smiley face, or motivational stamps to encourage children to perform correctly and encourage them to repeat such action again.

Skinner believed that behaviour is shaped and maintained by a reinforcing stimulus and that schedules of reinforcement are important factors in the learning process. There are many situations in the classroom where a behaviourist approach is likely to work well. For example, when I teach, I have started to pick out students who are making the right choices throughout the lesson. I call attention to the student who is doing the right thing and use verbal praise, which is quite an effective way to let other students realise what the expected learning behaviour is. The Year 6 students in the class are aware of the school’s reward system; ten credits lead to one merit, which is recorded in their merit book. They are also aware that bad behaviour in the class or on the playground will be followed by negative consequences. To warn against unwanted behaviour, I have seen teachers use negative reinforcers such as verbal warnings, timeouts and losing privileges.

Skinner and his colleagues (Gass & Larry, 2008), learning or a change of behaviour on the part of the learner, is brought about by a process known as 'operant conditioning' which is the result of repeated training. Operant means 'voluntary behaviour' which is the result of learner's own free-will and is not forced by any outsider or thing (Ortega, 2009). The learner will demonstrate the new behaviour first as a response to a system of a reward or punishment, and finally it will become an automatic response.

“Behaviorism is predominantly concerned with evident and measurable aspects of human behavior. In defining behaviour, behaviourist-learning theories emphasise changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response links made by the learner. Behaviour is directed by stimuli. An individual selects one response instead

Behaviorist’s think that you learn through a system of punishment and reinforcements. This approach was brought to light by Burrhus Frederic Skinner, but most refer to him as simply B.F. Skinner. A major contribution of this theory to psychology was operant conditioning, which is a method of learning made by rewards and punishment, for example, training a dog (Cherry & Gans, n.d.) Today, in 2018, a behavioral approach is used in our everyday life, like how we follow rules while behind the wheel and the way advertising companies use tactics to get us to buy their products (“5 Major”,

The Behavioural approach (also called the learning theory) focuses on the belief that our environment, e.g. people, experiences and learning, influences the development and behaviour of an individual whilst thinking the internal functions, such as thoughts and cognition, are impossible to observe, so they are not apart of the scientific approach to psychology. This theory is also based on the concept of ‘explaining behaviour through observation. Behaviourists assume individuals are born as a blank state (tabula rasa), meaning they do not think biology and cognitive functions influence our behaviour, only our environment does. A large idea that the theory hold is that behaviour can be broken down into stimulus-response units. Stimuli are anything environmental that triggers an individuals’ senses, for example, a student being asked to complete an assignment (stimulus) would respond by completing the assignment. Stimulus-response theories form the basis of classical or operant conditioning, which suggests animals and humans can learn through the relation of a response to any certain stimuli.

Behavioral learning strategy used during instruction and learning operates on a theory of “stimulus-response” based on involuntary and automatic behaviors called Classical Conditioning and/or Operant Conditioning which involves positive or negative reinforcement which focuses on strengthening or weakening of voluntary behavior (Hoy 2012).

According to Boeree, C, George (2006), B. F. Skinner’s “entire system is based on ‘operant conditioning’”. Behaviourism is determined by the environment and is “concerning with the effect of external events such as reward or punishment for behaviour” (Duschesne,

Examples: The ringing of the school bell stimulates the responses of children as to go back to the class and recess time

Operant Conditioning was developed by the behaviorist B.F. Skinner, who was convinced that any action followed by reinforcement becomes a learning experience and will occur again and again. Some people called it Instrumental Conditioning, because is a learning approach that uses rewards and punishment to reach its goals. According to this learning theory, the consequences of our actions are the ones that weaken or reinforce new occurrences. Therefore, the operant conditioning implies that an association is made between a behavior and the consequence that follows that behavior.

A behaviorist believes that instruction is fostered by observable, measurable, and controllable objectives set by the instructor. The learner is then asked to produce a specified set of responses based upon a controlled set of stimuli. This theory is based on B.F. Skinner’s work with mice in the 1930s. n behaviorism the assumption is made, that by controlling the environment of mice, they could be trained to follow a predetermined pattern. Humans, when given the proper motivation, could also be trained to respond in a specific manner displayed in set of behavioral outcomes. According to behaviorism, instructors are the impetus to specific behavioral outcomes from learners through predetermined learning objectives. The Learning progresses from simple to

One of the most debated issues in psychology pertains to the nature and meaning of learning. The systematic study of learning is relatively new as it was in the late nineteenth century that studies in this realm began in a scientific manner. Psychologists borrowed techniques from the physical sciences, and conducted experiments to understand how people and animals learn. Psychologists have tried in the past to define and explain how learning takes place. Two of the most important early researchers were Ivan Pavlov and Edward Thorndike. Among later researchers, B. F. Skinner was important for his studies of the relationship between behaviour and consequences. They are also known as

The second behavioral learning theory is by B. F. Skinner, Operant Conditioning. This is learning theory is the more commonly used with children, this is because it uses positive and negative reinforcers, as well as punishers to condition them. Operant conditioning is relatively easy to implement in the classroom. For a teacher, Skinner’s theory can be used to promote good behavior or discouraged in students. After a student does something good a teacher can give them a sticker, a positive reinforcement. If a student does something bad, talking to their friends during class they can be separated from them. According to Skinner, a punisher will stop the behavior and the positive reinforcement will motivate the student to continue (Slavin, 2015).