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Introduction To Education  EDF 1005 Unit II Lesson II Behaviorism (Objectivism) as a Theory of Teaching and Learning
Personal Information Joseph D. McNair Associate Professor, Senior jmcnair@mdc.edu			Links Ask an Expert Course Syllabus
Introduction to the Lesson The purpose of this second lesson in this second unit is to introduce the education student to Behaviorism as a theory of teaching and learning. In this  lesson, the student will study the ideas, concepts and constructs of behaviorism, including those of John B. Watson, Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, B.F. Skinner, Robert M. Gagne and Albert Bandura. In addition, the student will study such  practices as Direct Teaching, Mastery Learning and Success For  All among others. By way of introduction: From All Psych: Learning can be defined as the process leading to relatively permanent behavioral change or potential behavioral change. In other words, as we learn, we alter the way we perceive our environment, the way we interpret the incoming stimuli, and therefore the way we interact, or behave. John B. Watson (1878-1958) was the first to study how the process of learning affects our behavior, and he formed the school of thought known as Behaviorism. The central idea behind behaviorism is that only observable behaviors are worthy of research since other abstraction such as a person’s mood or thoughts are too subjective. This belief was dominant in psychological research in the United Stated for a good 50 years. Perhaps the most well known Behaviorist is B. F. Skinner (1904-1990). Skinner followed much of Watson’s research and findings, but believed that internal states could influence behavior just as external stimuli. He is considered to be a Radical Behaviorist because of this belief, although nowadays it is believed that both internal and external stimuli influence our behavior. Behavioral Psychology is basically interested in how our behavior results from the stimuli both in the environment and within ourselves. They study, often in minute detail, the behaviors we exhibit while controlling for as many other variables as possible. Often a grueling process, but results have helped us learn a great deal about our behaviors, the effect our environment has on us, how we learn new behaviors, and what motivates us to change or remain the same. http://allpsych.com/psychology101/conditioning.html From Elizabeth Murphy: Behaviorial psychology is interested in the study of changes in manifest behavior as opposed to changes in mental states. Learning is conceived as a process of changing or conditioning observable behavior as result of selective reinforcement of an individual's response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. The mind is seen as an empty vessel, a tabula rasa to be filled or as a mirror reflecting reality. Behaviorism centers on students' efforts to accumulate knowledge of the natural world and on teachers' efforts to transmit it. It therefore relies on a transmission, instructionist approach which is largely passive, teacher-directed and controlled. In some contexts, the term behaviorism is used synonymously with objectivism because of its reliance on an objectivist epistemology. Jonassen (1991) describes the assumptions of an objectivist approach to learning: Objectivists believe in the existence of reliable knowledge about the world. As learners, the goal is to gain this knowledge; as educators, to transmit it. Objectivism further assumes that learners gain the same understanding from what is transmitted (...) Learning therefore consists of assimilating that objective reality. The role of education is to help students learn about the real world. The goal of designers or teachers is to interpret events for them. Learners are told about the world and are expected to replicate its content and structure in their thinking (p.28). This objectivist model has resulted in somewhat of a stereotyped portrayal of teaching and learning which is a widely criticized and often evoked as the target of educational reform. Susan Hanley, in an online discussion of constructivism, describes her perspective on the objectivist model: Classes are usually driven by "teacher-talk" and depend heavily on textbooks for the structure of the course. There is the idea that there is a fixed world of knowledge that the student must come to know. Information is divided into parts and built into a whole concept. Teachers serve as pipelines and seek to transfer their thoughts and meanings to the passive student. There is little room for student-initiated questions, independent thought or interaction between students. The goal of the learner is to regurgitate the accepted explanation or methodology expostulated by the teacher (p.3). This lesson was developed to address elements of competency #4 on the functions of the educational process (teaching and learning) and schooling for education majors who are taking EDF 1005 in partial fulfillment of the graduation requirements for an Associate of Arts degree in Teaching (Elementary), Teaching (Secondary), Early Childhood and Exceptional Education. Competency #4 reads (in part) as follows: "The student will examine the various functions of the educational process and schooling by Explaining the difference between enculturation, education and schooling. (A complete list of all the competencies for EDF 1005 is provided below by clicking on the link titled competencies)
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