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Behaviorism Theory
By; Amy

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Key Points
 Behaviorism views that learners respond to environmental
stimuli. Behavior is enforced through positive and negative
reinforcement (Behaviorism)
 Positive Reinforcement increases the likelihood of the behavior
(ex: reward), Negative Reinforcement decreases the likelihood
of reoccurrence (ex: punishment). (Behaviorism)
 Behaviorism does not include independent thinking in teaching
methods (Shelly)
 Human learning is objective and experimental. Behaviorism
doesn’t include cognitive processes (Shelly)

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Key Contributors to Behaviorism
 Ian Pavlov
 B.F. Skinner
 Albert Bandura
Pavlov Skinner Bandura

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Ian Pavlov
 Pavlov’s greatest contribution to Behaviorism was his
experiment with dogs
 He used classic conditioning to teach dogs to salivate when he
rang a bell. To do this, Pavlov provided food, and rang a bell
when the dogs began to salivate.
 The dogs began to associate the ringing of the bell with food as
a result of his experiment
 This experiment shows is an example of stimulus response
 Information used from Shelly, pg 258

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B.F. Skinner
 Established operant conditioning
 Operant conditioning: learning that is controlled and results in
shaping behavior through the reinforcement of stimulus
response patterns. (Shelly, 259)
 Used pigeons to display operant conditioning
 He did this by teaching pigeons behavior and rewarding them
when they behaved correctly
 Believed positive and negative reinforcement is crucial in
behavior
 Information from Shelly, pg 259

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Albert Bandura
 Greatest contribution is the Social Cognitive Theory
 Believes observation is the biggest influence on behavior (also
observational modeling- watching behavior and then mimicking
it) (Shelly, 260)
 Also focused on self efficiency
 Self efficiency- personal observation about one’s perceived
ability to feel, think and motivate oneself to learn (Shelly, 261)

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Classroom Implications
 Teacher:
 With technology, the teacher could show videos. This would
work for observational learning when teaching something new.
 Without technology, reinforcement methods work. Examples:
Gold star on test for good grades, rewards such as class
parties if behavior is good. If behavior is bad, the student can
sit out of recess as a punishment.

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Classroom Implications continued
 Students:
 With technology, the students could mimic behavior. For
example, watching a YouTube video to learn how to do
something
 Without technology, students can learn by reinforcement. If they
get rewards for doing well in class and behaving properly, they
will continue to do so. If they get time taken out of recess for
not raising their hand, they will remember to raise their hand
next time.

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My Teaching
 I think this theory would work very well for elementary students,
and it is used quite often
 By rewarding students, they will learn to continue the desired
behavior
 By punishing them, they will learn not to continue that behavior
 Observational learning is also effective for young children, as
they often mimic people. It would be a good demonstration
when teaching them something new.

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Work Cited
 "Behaviorism." Learning Theories RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr.
2014.
 SHELLY, GARY B. Teachers Discovering Computers:
Integrating Technology in a Connected World. New York:
Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.
 B.F. Skinner, Albert Bandura. N.d. Biography.com, n.p.
(Photos)
 Ian Pavlov. N.d. Nobelprize.org, n.p. (Photo)