Behavioral Views of Learning

Understanding Learning Learning occurs when experience causes a relatively permanent change in an individual’s knowledge or behavior. Theses changes can be deliberate or unintentional, but to qualify as learning the change must be brought on by experience. Ex. Young child learning words.

Contiguity When contiguity happens you have two or more sensations occur together often enough, they will become associated. When you have a stimulus happen, your response occurs also.

Classical Conditioning Learning of involuntary emotional or physiological responses. Ex. Fear, muscle tension, salivation, sweating.

Operant Conditioning Use of a behavior's antecedent and/or its consequence to influence the occurrence and form of behavior. Antecedents are behaviors that precedes the operant and consequences are those that follow it.

Operant Conditioning Reinforcement is an example of a consequence that strengthens behavior. Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior produces a new stimulus. (Ex. Compliments for and action or dress.) Negative reinforcement occurs when a behavior takes away that stimulus. (Ex. Car seatbelt buzzer and getting sick before a test.) Remember to encourage behavior is to reinforce it.

Applied Behavior Analysis Sometime called behavior modification, it is the application of behavioral learning principles to understand and change behavior. Simpler terms is to know the behavior and then introduce an intervention such as giving a reward for every problem right. Then you will stop the reward to see if the behavior goes back and then reintroduce the reward.

Methods for Encouraging Behaviors Praise for on-task contribution and ignore off- task contribution. Premack principle – Can be understood as do what I want you to do and then you can do what you want to do. This means to use a less desirable but important lesson as a precursor to a lesson the student want to do.

Methods for Encouraging Behaviors Shaping – reinforcing small steps of progress toward a desired goal or behavior. In a math equation instead of neg. reinforcement for missing the entire equation use pos. reinforcement for getting certain steps right. Positive practice – Practicing correct responses immediately after errors.

Coping with Undesirable Behavior Negative Reinforcement – Not allowing students to join in with a fun activity until the lesson for the day is completed. Satiation – Requiring a student to repeat a problem behavior past the point of interest or motivation. (Bouncing Ball) Reprimands – Cristicism for mis-behavior. Many time private reprimands are much better than public reprimands

Coping with Undesirable Behavior Response Cost - Punishment by loss of reinforcers. Social isolations – Removal of a disruptive student for 5 or 10 minutes.

Group Consequences Rewards or punishments given to a class as a whole for adhering to or violating rules of conduct. Breaking classes into two groups and giving the group with less points a reward. Caution to punishing the whole team every day because of one student due to class making that student and outcast. This may not work for every class you have.

Contingency Contracts A contract between the teacher and a student specifying what the student must do to earn a particular reward or privilege. Use a line chart and as long as student stays above the proposed due dates as a whole they will receive a reward such as extra points or other educational rewards. This is more for intermediate or advanced students.

Token Reinforcement System in which tokens earned for academic work and positive classroom behavior can be exchanged for some desired reward. Students can earn tokens for academic work or positive behaviors. Students can turn these tokens in for certain rewards (Ex. Free time or other privileges) These should be used to motivate, encourage students or to deal with an out of control class.

Observational Learning Learning by observation and imitation of others. Four elements – Attention- In order to learn you have to pay attention. – Retention- In order to imitate the behavior, you have to remember it. – Production- Practice makes the behavior smoother and more expert – Motivation and Reinforcement- Person needs motivation to use the behavior and reinforcement to continue it.

Observational Learning in Teaching Directing attention- Observing others directs our attention. (Ex. Kids toy) Fine-Tuning Already-Learned Behaviors- Observing others to tell us what learned behaviors to use. Strengthening or Weakening Inhibitions- Deal effectively with rule breaker, the idea of breaking this rule for other students will be inhibition.

Observational Learning in Teaching Teaching New Behaviors- Modeling behaviors or ways of learning are important roles. Arousing Emotion- Emotional reactions to situations they have never experienced personally but have witnessed.

Self Management Use of behavioral learning principles to change your own behavior. Three steps in implementing a basic behavior change program – Goal setting – Setting goals and making and making them public. Higher standards lead to higher performance. – Monitoring and Evaluating Progress – Monitoring daily activities to see where change needs to be made. – Self-Reinforcement – Creating rewards for completion of first two steps.

Cognitive Behavior Modification Procedures based on both behavioral and cognitive learning principles for changing your own behavior by using self-talk and self- instruction. Four skills that you can ask yourself to increase student learning – Listening, Planning, Working, Checking

Listening “Does this make sense” “Am I getting this” “I need to ask a question now before I forget” “Pay attention” “Can I do what he’s saying to do”

Planning “Do I have everything together’ “Do I have my friends tuned our for right now” “Let me get organized first” “What order will I do this in” “I know this stuff”

Working “Am I working fast enough” “Stop staring at my girlfriend and get back to work” “How much time is left” “Do I need to stop and start over” “This is hard for me, but I can manage”

Checking “Did I finish everything” “What do I need to recheck” “Am I proud of this work” “Did I write all the words? Count them.” “I think I finished, I organized myself, Did I daydream too much.”