Posted Date: May 28, 2013
Subject: Wrestling with Behaviourism as an Approach
Marie-Astrid,
Funny you should mention Control Theory. It has since be renamed Choice Theory, which better reflects its essence. My counselling training was completed with the Glasser Institute. When I was an elementary counselor and in private practice as a therapist, I used reality therapy as my approach. It does tie well with Kohlberg and more thoroughly explains behaviourim. It also ties in well with this week’s readings on information processing and learning. It work extremely well with reluctant clients. In fact, the advanced training devotes a lot of time to this issue. Restitution plays heavily in this approach. I was also fortunate to train with Diane Gossen who applied choice theory, reality therapy, and restitution to her work with inmates in a maximum security institution. I highly recommend her work and the work of William Glasser.
Don
Posted Date: May 26, 2013
Subject: Wrestling with Behaviourism as an Approach
Jen,
My use of operant conditioning in high schools has been limited to the first few sessions with a class; kind of an icebreaker and quirky approach to gaining attention and cooperation. Most of the time I was called in to help a class that was “out of control”. Rewards bought some time to co-develop a plan for improvement and establish a class constitution. They were a way into a difficult situation and interrupted the status quo. Honesty and respect were key and with them the need for external rewards disappeared. This coupled with changes to enrich the learning experience usually turned the tide.
Don
Posted Date: May 26, 2013
Subject: Engagement and Behaviour
Jen,
While I agree that they come with hard work and fulfilling criteria, we respond to them and so they do shape our behaviour. While learning and skill development are natural consequences, marks aren’t. They do not flow directly from the behaviour but are applied externally, which makes them more of a reward.
The limit of behavioursim is that it fails to account for internal motivation and choice. Not everyone responds the same way at the same time in the same place to the same event. We do not always answer the phone when it rings.
Don
Posted Date: May 25, 2013
Subject: Wrestling with Behaviourism as an Approach
Jennifer,
I agree with your comments about the need for respect and meaningful experiences as fundamental to good behaviour and good learning. Someone in another thread also pointed out that examining misbehaviour by shining the light on ourselves may be useful. I agree with this statement as well. And now for the but…
The ability to make decisions and act according to a inner moral code is developmentally relative. Kohlberg’s work in the 50’s and 60’s outline stages in the development of moral reasoning and ethical behaviour. While I teach and encourage empathy, responsibility, and acting for the better good in my students, I am not surprised when their behaviour is motivated by potential rewards or they respond, “What’s in it for me?” According to Kohlberg, this is bang on with their developmental level. It’s kind of like teaching about words and sentences while understanding many of them will still produce a stream of random letters and call it writing. Again, this is bang on with their developmental level.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Kohlberg’s_stages_of_moral_development
Don’t lose heart with your son’s response. He is just acting his age which is all he can do while he prepares to enter and learn more about the next stage of development. I suspect Gandhi’s mother was not always pleased with his thinking and behaviour as a child and he turned out okay!
Don
Posted Date: May 25, 2013
Subject: A new tangent…
Ginelle,
Gamification is a pretty hot topic and not without its critics who see a tie to arousal and internet addition. I participated in a discourse leadership group in ETEC 511 that looked at this issue.
On the practical side, I have just finished leading my school through a pilot of Mathletics. The program has school and home components. Its online platform uses a game approach to target numerical fluency. Avatars, points, prizes and competition are prominent features. The program was hugely popular with students and the teacher reported significant academic gains. However, it was less popular with parents who were concerned about screen time and a games approach to “serious” learning. Although one parent had to admit that encouraging her son to do less math seemed odd and counter-productive.
Thanks for contributing. I find the topic fascinating too!
Don
Posted Date: May 25, 2013
Subject: A new tangent…
Hi,
Some great comments about behaviourism in social media. I have experienced these kinds of programs and sites that use a Skinnerian operant conditioning approach. It is an approach that is easy to identify and the one most people identify with behaviour modification. I am also talking about the more subtle forms of behaviour modification. For example, check out the titles of the threads used to introduce ourselves. There is a pattern.
Don
Posted Date: May 24, 2013
Subject: Engagement and Behaviour
Marianne,
Exactly. Yes I think we reduce behavioursism to behaviour and reward programs. They are probably more overtly employed with young children but behaviour is constantly shaped through human interaction. It was sometimes more subtle but still present when I taught middle and high school. But don’t get me wrong… although I emply behaviourist techniques, I think behaviourism falls short in many areas which may account for its limited success in some environments. It just doesn’t go far enough or deep enough to explain the nuances of human motivation, interaction, and growth. Thanks for making the point.
Don
Posted Date: May 24, 2013
Subject: A new tangent…
It is 9:15 and my students are at gym with my student teacher so I have a few minutes to post some questions….
What role does behaviourism play in video games and what does this mean when considering gamification as a approach to teaching?
What about the behaviour modifying properties of social media and their impact when we bring this medium into teaching and learning?
No answers, just some musings I woke up with this morning. It is interesting to consider how technology may or may not compliment a behaviourist approach. I’ll post more later but I hear the pitter patter of little feet….
Don
Posted Date: May 24, 2013
Subject: Behaviourist Strategies in an Alternative Context
Rachel,
One more thing…some advice I got from a psychologist colleague which is worth remembering. Work with others like you have forever. This slows us down, keeps us focused on the big picture, and takes the sting out of some of our setbacks and failures. Change won’t occur were there is too much pressure. Keep me posted. My experience looking back… it was some of the most challenging and rewarding teaching in my career.
Don
Posted Date: May 23, 2013
Subject: Engagement and Behaviour
Ginelle,
I think there is some truth to your observation. I teach young children and hear the same concern when I use behaviourist techniques. I do believe that internal discipline in learned through external example and control. I wonder if we were more consistent in our use of external discipline to scaffold internal discipline with younger students, would have more intrinsically motivated young adults?
That said…I do like my paycheck and would not come to work if I stopped receiving it. I also appreciate the support and positive feedback I recieve from my principal, colleagues, and parents; not to mention my satisfaction when a student masters a difficult task. And who doesn’t like getting a good mark in a MET course or receiving a considerate response on Connect? All of these things help to shape and mold my behaviour. Different from your example but still behavioural modification at work.
Don
Posted Date: May 23, 2013
Subject: Behaviourist Strategies in an Alternative Context
Rachel,
I have some experience teaching in alternate settings with older students and three things stand out in my mind when considering behavioural strategies:
1) Respect and humour are significant issues. I have found it important to be scrupulous in the respect afforded students while maintaining a sense of fun. Despite what is figuratively or literally thrown at us we must maintain our respect for students. Facing a challenging student and respectfully holding our ground (and sometimes reminding the student that we have done this) gives some room for the delivery of fair consequences. It takes time but not as much time as undoing a situation in which we have acted disrespectfully with students. A calm, assertive, caring, joyful attitude helps.
2) Conventional reward systems can work. I had major success with Strawberry Shortcake stickers; not so much because of the stickers but because the students saw the obviously funny side in my weird attempt to bribe them. It became a bit of an inside joke…but nonetheless behaviour and learning did improve. Even the “baddest” guy worked hard to get a sticker.
3) Behavioural systems are contracts between teachers and students. I have had students refuse to participate because they did not believe they would experience positive reinforcers; they believed their “good” behaviour would go unnoticed. Better to refuse or act out than to be disappointed or reminded of the negative opinion they hold of themselves. I have had success when I reinforce the contract idea, in these systems the teacher and student are both making commitments; the student to working on new behaviours and the teacher to recognizing those efforts. Modeling, shaping, and cuing work both ways. When I give students permission to call me out when I do not hold up my commitment, they are usually willing to enter the program.
Just a few ideas. Thanks for reminding me of the time spent in Alt Ed. I sometimes miss it!
Don
Posted Date: May 22, 2013
Subject: Two dolphins are talking and…
When I stop to consider behaviorism I am reminded of a cartoon in which two dolphins are floating in a pool. A trainer is standing over them with a bucket of fish and one dolphin turns to the other and says, “He’s doing so well with the fish trick, do you think we should try him on something harder?”
A lot of great comments have been made about behaviourism and while I agree it seems pretty “teacher centric”, it is important to acknowledge that while a teacher is shaping, cuing, and reinforcing student behaviour, a student is shaping, cuing, and reinforcing teacher behaviour. This is suggested in the CWS study and supported by the observation that consistency is an important part in any behaviour management system. And clearly we are talking about a change in teacher behaviour: a move to greater consistency to support behavioural change in students.
I use a wide range of behavioural techniques in my Kindergarten classroom: modeling, shaping, cuing, reinforcers, consequences, ignoring to name a few. The focus is on developing behaviour that helps learning. I use a sticker chart to reward student behaviour at the beginning of the year, it brings about a quick change but not a lasting change. What brings about a lasting change is teaching the “what” and “why” of behaviour. We discuss and reach agreement about how we need to act to have the kind of classroom we want to have. We talk about how our behaviour contributes to and detracts from learning. The sticker chart is like a contract; we all have our name on it. It reminds us to follow the rules and to support learning. Stickers are coupled with direct and specific feedback. The stickers also keep me on track (Whose behaviour is really being modified?) At a glance, the class can see who is being recognized and who is being missed. We know who to observe, notice, and help. As the year moves on we agree when we no longer need the sticker chart to motivate our behaviour; it’s just about the time most of the students make the connection between what we do, the amount we learn and the fun we have!
In my classroom we agree we are a family and that in our family we will all help each other. We are bluntly encouraging and critical. We celeberate when someone does well and help when someone does not. The first time I am given a sticker for teaching a great lesson or reminded I should not be talking to the principal during reading circle are hallmark moments. Last week, my art lesson was met with thunderous applause; the consensus being I had planned it well.
I believe that behavioural management techniques serve a useful purpose. They can encourage and motivate students while they come to understand the motivation and reward present in classrooms that recognize the characteristics of every learner, emphasize the development of community, engage students in meaningful activities to build knowledge and skills, and value reflection and personal development. Thank you Terry Anderson for these lenses.
Don’t get me wrong. I am the captain of my ship but the boat won’t sail without cooperation, support, and work of the crew. We won’t reach our destination and we might actually sink. Occasionally the sticker chart comes back out. It serves as a reminder and a helpful tool when things start to slip.
Watching the video, I saw a classroom like the one described above. I saw a teacher who has high expectations for achievement and is pretty blunt about the thinking, feelings, and actions that promote it. Thank you William Glasser for this lens on behaviour. I can’t imagine Ms White’s students allowing a poorly constructed lesson or failure to attend to a deadline to go unnoticed. The contract about behaviour and learning seems pretty clear. Repeated videoing may help address student and teacher nerves. I’d like to be a fly on the wall in this room. As much as the teacher is clearly in charge, I suspect the students shared in the development of this learning environment.