Behaviourism has been continuously linked with learning for many years (Tennant, 2003) and is a perspective that focuses on the changes in individuals’ observable behaviours. (Seifert & Sutton, 2009:23) It is the scientific method of study, observing the behaviour of living organisms in relation to any environmental occurrences. (Alberto & Troutman, 2003) Behaviourists often view observable behaviour as a crucial subject matter in its own right and steer clear of portraying behaviour as a sign of some other psychological phenomenon as some other psychological systems have done, for example; interpreting behaviour as an indication of repressed psychological content
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Behaviourist theory implies that learning can only be said to have occurred when there is a clear change in the outward behaviour of the student (Cherry, 2014) and this can be founded on the notion that researchers study only observable, measurable outward behavioural change (Bush, 2006). This theory relates with the research of both Watson and Skinner (Weegar & Pacis, 2012), questioning whether behaviour can be predicted and controlled, and if learning is affected by changes in the surrounding environment. According to Cherry (2014),the behaviourist theory is based on the idea that all evident behaviours are formed through conditioning and that our personally responses to the stimuli, produced from the environment, shapes our behaviours. A behaviourist will argue that there are no requirements needed to consider the mental or internal processes of the student, because they are considered to be too subjective in the first …show more content…
So reinforcement is a very normal part of life and should be a normal part of the classroom. In fact, when we consider reinforcement which occurs naturally in any classroom, we begin to realise that it is a central component of the motivation of all students to achieve. (Mader, 2009). However, positive reinforcement has the potential to be quite time consuming, especially for classroom teachers who are already finding it difficult to keep up with the high demands of the new curriculum. (Allen et al, 2010:121). Talking individually to every classroom child each time they complete a task can take up much needed facilitation time. Despite the time constraints of positive reinforcement, meeting the individual needs of students remain a high priority. Teachers must now find intelligent ways to implement a wide range of techniques to give students the positive feedback they crave, sometimes this is not necessarily from having direct contact with the student. (Sweet, 1997). According to Irwin (1967), classrooms should be varied and appeal to every child, meeting his or hers needs, abilities and interests. If teachers are unwilling to be flexible in the classroom and fail to support individual needs, how
Behaviourist theory implies that learning can only be said to have occurred when there is a clear change in the outward behaviour of the student (Cherry, 2014) and this can be founded on the notion that researchers study only observable, measurable outward behavioural change (Bush, 2006). This theory relates with the research of both Watson and Skinner (Weegar & Pacis, 2012), questioning whether behaviour can be predicted and controlled, and if learning is affected by changes in the surrounding environment. According to Cherry (2014),the behaviourist theory is based on the idea that all evident behaviours are formed through conditioning and that our personally responses to the stimuli, produced from the environment, shapes our behaviours. A behaviourist will argue that there are no requirements needed to consider the mental or internal processes of the student, because they are considered to be too subjective in the first …show more content…
So reinforcement is a very normal part of life and should be a normal part of the classroom. In fact, when we consider reinforcement which occurs naturally in any classroom, we begin to realise that it is a central component of the motivation of all students to achieve. (Mader, 2009). However, positive reinforcement has the potential to be quite time consuming, especially for classroom teachers who are already finding it difficult to keep up with the high demands of the new curriculum. (Allen et al, 2010:121). Talking individually to every classroom child each time they complete a task can take up much needed facilitation time. Despite the time constraints of positive reinforcement, meeting the individual needs of students remain a high priority. Teachers must now find intelligent ways to implement a wide range of techniques to give students the positive feedback they crave, sometimes this is not necessarily from having direct contact with the student. (Sweet, 1997). According to Irwin (1967), classrooms should be varied and appeal to every child, meeting his or hers needs, abilities and interests. If teachers are unwilling to be flexible in the classroom and fail to support individual needs, how