Ch. 9 QTC

How would you define successful mastery of your lesson objectives from a behavioral view of learning? 

When thinking like a behavioralist, one must be constantly observing behaviors exhibited by the subject. I will make clear, for each lesson, the lesson objectives. The student needs to understand what is expected of him/her, so that the student can produce the results that correspond to the objective. As a behaviorist, I am purely concerned with the behaviors that my students produce. So, if I give an activity that involves using fractional wooden pieces to show equivalent fractions, I want to see how my student interacts with the objective, if the student can show the equivalent fractions, and how the student interacts with the environment during the lesson activity. One could argue that formative assessment is the main key in Behaviorism  because a behaviorist is constantly observing behaviors to assess the subject (which in this case is the student). To determine if the student has mastery of a concept, I would observe their behaviors and actions when they try to solve a problem. 

Consider your CSEL intervention case study.  Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case?  What are they?

I feel like there are a good number of tools from a behaviorist view that can encourage or discourage behaviors. Influence of the environment is important, because the teacher must create a classroom that fosters desirable behaviors. If my student is in an environment that promotes constant thinking, my students will exhibit behaviors of constant thinking, which in return, will produce a great sense of learning. Another tool would be having my students focus on observable events. This is imperative for my student to learn, because the student needs to have the tools to identify specific stimuli that may be influencing their behavior. Learning as a behavior change is also important, because I will be able to conclude that learning has occurred when my students exhibit a change in classroom performance. The common theme in these tools is that behavior effects the student's learning, so I must use my knowledge of behaviorism to create the best learning environment to encourage behaviors that will foster thinking and learning. In a case study, one could also argue that conditioning is important for returning appropriate behaviors, but I think we, as teachers, shouldn't rely heavily on conditioning.