This document provides an overview of behaviorism, including its key founders and principles. Behaviorism views human behavior as responses to environmental stimuli and can be shaped through reinforcement and punishment. The founders, John Watson, B.F. Skinner, Ivan Pavlov and Clark Hull, researched classical and operant conditioning. The document discusses applying behaviorism in the classroom through contracts, consequences, and positive/negative reinforcement to achieve desired student behaviors and learning outcomes.

1. Behaviorism
By Nate Underwod

2. Table of Contents
• What is behaviorism?
• A little more about those who
founded behaviorism!
• Classroom Application and
Importance!
• Classroom Use and My Teaching
Goals!
All Finished??

3. Behaviorism…
• The idea that anything a learner
(student) does; including acting,
thinking, or feeling, is considered a
behavior
• Primarily concerned with observable
and measurable aspects of human
behavior
• Use of rewards and punishments are
common
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4. Behaviorism (cont.)
• Founded by John Watson and B.F. Skinner
• There are 2 different types of conditioning:
classical and operant
• Classical conditioning: when they train the
mind to bring response from a stimulus that
previously brought a different response
• Operant conditioning: use of the punishment
and reward system to achieve desired
behaviors
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5. John B. Watson
• John Watson is considered to be the Father of
Behaviorism
• Lived from 1878 until 1958
• He believed that behaviors were created by
stimuli with specific responses
• B. F. Skinner is recognized as another founder
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6. More Key Figures
• Ivan Pavlov(1849-1936)
– Studied reflexes and conditioning as a form of
learning
– Studied the effects of an environment on a learner
– His work was often cited in Watson’s research
• Clark Hull (1884-1952)
– Furthermore researched behaviorism while
drawing off of Pavlov and Watson’s findings
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7. Practical Classroom Application
• Contracts: agreement between students and
teachers of what behavior is acceptable
• Consequences: occur immediately after a
behavior (positive of negative)
• Positive Reinforcement: example… smiling for a
correct answer.
• Negative Reinforcement: giving a homework pass
to students with perfect attendance
• Extinction: working to remove a behavior from
the classroom (ex. talking during class)
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8. Why its important in the Classroom!
• It is rewarding for both the students and the
instructors
• The students work to achieve positive results
which leave them better off, and with higher
grades
• When I was a student, I found the reward and
punishment system to be the most productive
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9. My Use of Behaviorism
• I feel that behaviorism will be very important in
my classroom, because if I do not positively
reinforce a desired behavior, then it may end of
extinct.
• I plan to use the contract method because it will
set the ground rules and goals for the year early
on.
• Punishment will also be key, because that is what
it took for me to really learn from my mistakes
when I was in 4th grade myself
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10. Teaching Goals
• By using the methods, I don’t only aim to
achieve excellence in the classroom, but also
out of the classroom.
• That extra effort to effect the students outside
of the classroom as well, is where you can
really leave a lasting impression on a young
students life.
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11. Hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about
Behaviorism and my application of it in the
classroom…
Don’t forget to check out my review word search
for a fun treat! 
• http://en.educaplay.com/en/learningresources/
606569/behaviorism.htm