| Subject: Re: Assignment #2 |
Author:
Joshua Gardner
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Date Posted: 10:39:30 06/15/10 Tue
In reply to:
Dr. M-J
's message, "Assignment #2" on 19:25:40 06/11/10 Fri
>Assignment 2 (Behaviorism): June 13
>Post a response to the following question by first
>clicking onto "Post a Reply to this Message"
>
>Think of a problem/situation in your area (teaching or
>counseling or as a parent) where you would use of have
>used behavioristic or social learning theories.
>Provide an example of the problem/situation and the
>solution.
Classroom management is one of the most significant aspects of teaching. If a teacher cannot effectively control his/her students, then the maximum environment for teaching and learning cannot occur. The students must know that when the teacher says it is time to sit down and be quiet, that they must sit down and be quiet or there will be consequences to face. This process requires the use of operant conditioning, typically through the use of Punishment I (adding a baddie) and Punishment II (removing a goodie). The teacher must condition the students that he/she is in charge of the classroom, and when he/she says something that it is not optional and will be followed as ordered.
I have not yet began teaching full time, but I have spent several hours in public and inner city schools observing and this past spring was working part time at a private school. The most common unwanted behavior from students I have noticed is talking, and it wins by a large margin. I have seen different teachers handle this problem in many different ways, but their strategy is always conditioned to their individual students.
I have seen teachers who will at first ask their students to be quiet; often times this does not work. They will then tell their students to be quiet; the more authoritative command may or may not work. If there are students who are still loud, the teacher will then result to getting loud and often yelling at the class. While I don’t think this method is the best, I have seen that it does work. The teacher will often yell, “Quiet! If you don’t get quiet, then you’re…[insert threat here about school work/punishment].” Almost always the students will quiet down, because they have been conditioned that when the teacher starts yelling and making threats it is time to get serious or he/she will administer some type of punishment.
I found out while working at the private school that the majority of the students there were conditioned to be afraid of the principals. The students would be talking or perhaps sitting on top of their desks, but if someone said they saw the principal or assistant principal in the hallway then all of the students would scramble to act properly in the classroom. I recall one day in particular where the students had packed up their stuff and were waiting on the bell to ring. They were talking amongst themselves with a few out of their seats. The classroom door opened and the assistant principal walked inside. All of the students got quiet and quickly found a seat. I found out that the school would usually call the parents of any problematic students, and with that being a private school, the parents wanted their money to go towards the student’s education not disrupting class. The parents’ punishments were often far worse than anything the school could do to the students. The principals had conditioned the students by tying in the parents’ at home conditioning.
Perhaps the most unique form of conditioning at work I have seen came from a public middle school. I was observing a 7th grade teacher, and her students were lining up to go to lunch. The students were being loud in the hallway, and without even saying a word the teacher got them to quiet down. She pulled out a pen and notepad and began writing on it. As the students noticed her writing, they began to nudge their classmates and point towards the teacher and notepad. Within a matter of seconds, all of the students were quiet. The students knew that they should have been quiet in the hallway, and from previous experience knew that when the teacher had out her notepad she was writing down the names of the talking students and punishment would soon follow. What made this instance so interesting to me was that the teacher did not even say a word, nor was she writing any of the students’ names down; she was actually writing out her grocery list. The students, however, saw her going through the motions and knew they had to quiet down or else they would be in trouble.
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