From what I’ve read so far it would be accurate to say that the majority of early learning environments are rooted in behaviorism. An institutionalized environment creates conditioned responses to outside stimuli such as bells ringing to signify the end of a learning period, or the start and end of recess. This is a clear example of behaviorism, as “behaviorist teaching methods tend to rely on so-called “skill and drill” exercises to provide the consistent repetition necessary for effective reinforcement of response patterns (GSI 2020).
Behaviorism
The following is a behaviorism scenario:
In order to potty train a child a parent has would reward the child for each successful attempt with a toy (the stimulus) for 1 week. The parent informs the child of this and purchases a series of affordable toys that would appeal to the child AND that the child also selects. The child is told that a toy would be awarded immediately each time the desired behavior is demonstrated (positive reinforcement). Each time the child has an accident the toy is withheld until the next successful attempt (negative reinforcement). However each failure should be met with early feedback to the child on ways to improve. “It’s important to offer learners feedback as soon as possible, so that the learner can clearly identify which behaviors or skill sets need to be improved. “ (C Pappas 2014).
The desired behavior (going to the potty) would be observed and reinforced by whomever is providing care for the child at home, as most potty training occurs at home as a requirement to entering pre-school (S. Hodges, M.D. 2016).
Pros:
- The process is repeated on a regular basis with the learner knowing in advance what the reward is for the desired behavior.
- Set ups association for future conditioning “where linking a specific stimulus to a specific response” (M. Keramida 2015) is the desired result.
Cons:
- A string of repeated failures could discourage continued participation and lead to repeated negative behavior. As a result feedback must always be encouraging, as “human learners tend to avoid responses that are associated with punishment or unpleasant consequences such as poor grades or adverse feedback.” (GSI 2020)
- Depending on the development of the child, behaviorism methods may not be adequately understood by the child.
References
Behaviorism. GSI (2020) https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/behaviorism/
9 Tips To Give and Receive eLearning Feedback. C Pappas (2014, July 3) https://elearningindustry.com/9-tips-give-receive-elearning-feedback
Hodges, M.D. (2016, September 14) https://www.bedwettingandaccidents.com/single-post/2016/09/14/The-Problem-with-Preschool-Potty-Training-Deadlines
Association. M Keramidia (2015, May 28) https://elearningindustry.com/behaviorism-in-instructional-design-for-elearning-when-and-how-to-use