Chapter 9: Behaviorism

How would you define successful mastery of your lesson objectives from a behavioral view of learning?
Consider your CSEL intervention case study. Are there tools form a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case? What are they?

If I were in a kindergarten classroom, and I was looking for a change in behavior (something learned) in my students, I would most likely look specifically at their beahvior in the classroom. At this point in their lives, these children have not had many experiences in a school setting, and may not know how to interact in this particular setting (for example: walking in the halls, sitting at a desk, raising your hand). These are all behaviors students will need to learn (quickly) to function in the classroom.

These types of behaviors can be easily observed by the teacher, and the teacher can keep track over time if the children have learned these behaviors. In the beginning of the school year, these behaviors may be explicitly taught (like walking in the halls for the first time as a group), but throughout the school year, students should only need small reminders about their behavior.

As far as reinforcement, I believe the first, and most important step, is to inform the children of expected behaviors: We walk in the hallways in a straight line, We sit at our desks in the classroom, We raise our hands before talking. I would put some sort of visual up in the classroom so that the children could see these each day. As they learn the desired behaviors, I would make sure to point out who was doing a good job and exhibiting the behaviors that are expected of them. I believe at times, probably later in the school year, I will have to use some sort of group contract with the students (ex: If everyone can stay quiet on the way to the lunchroom, then we can have extra free time when we get back from lunch). This is one way to remind the children what is expected of them.