The document discusses behaviorism as a perspective for curriculum development from its origins in the late 19th/early 20th century. Key figures discussed include Pavlov, Watson, and Skinner. Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and uses conditioning principles like reinforcement. From this view, curriculum is carefully structured, sequenced, and evaluated based on measurable outcomes. It emphasizes drills, practice, and external influences on learning over internal mental processes. An example given is the audiolingual method for foreign language teaching using repetition and modeling.

1. Curriculum Development from a Behavioristic
Perspective
Presented by: Masoud Mahmoodi-Shahrebabaki

2. History (1)
 Behaviorism was a response to the “introspection” movement
prevalent in the 19th and early 20th centuries
introspective psychologists Wilhelm Wundt: the study of
consciousness is the primary object of psychology and the
methodology should be introspective, relying on first-
person reports of sensations
 In 1911, psychologist John Watson presented observation and
experimental rigor in a seminal paper, Psychology as the
Behaviorist View
psychology as a science must focus on the objective,
observable behaviors

3. History (2)
Ivan Pavlov
- Founder of classical conditioning; unconditioned
stimulus
John B.Watson
- Coined the term “behaviorism”
- Studied how a certain stimuli led organisms to
make responses
- Believed psychology was only an objective
observation of behavior
B.F. Skinner
- Radical Behaviorism: proposed that all
action is determined at not free
- Operant Response: behavior that control the
rate at which specific consequences occur
7
causes unconditioned response

4. Ivan Pavlov: classical conditioning
Pavlov used the salivation response to
the smell of food (an unconditioned
response)
He trained a dog, by repeated occurrences, to associate the
sound of a bell with food until the dog acquired a
conditioned response: salivation at the sound of the bell.
A previously neutral stimulus (the sound of the bell) had acquired
the power to elicit a response (salivation) that was originally
elicited by another stimulus (the smell of meat).

5. B.F. Skinner: Operant Conditioning
Called Pavlovian conditioning respondent conditioning
since it was concerned with respondent behavior
Operant behavior is behavior in which one "operates" on
the environment; stimulus is not important
For example, we cannot identify a specific stimulus leading a baby to rise to a
standing position or to take a first step but we should be concerned about the
consequences— the stimuli that follow the response
the events or stimuli— the reinforcers— that follow a
response and that tend to strengthen behavior or
increase the probability of a recurrence

6. Basics of Behaviorism
 the oldest (since 1920s) and still a widely used approach to
curriculum development
 started with the idea of efficiency, influenced by business and
industry, and the scientific management theories

7. Behaviorism and Education (1)
Key to learning is to condition the child in early years
of life to train them what you want them to be
People learn through observation and modeling
direct instruction, practice and drill, monitoring
students, and prompt feedback

8. Behaviorism and Education (2)
 change in external behavior using reinforcement and
repetition
Desired behavior is rewarded; the undesired
behavior is punished
 the "teacher" is the dominant person in the
classroom

9. Curriculum from a Behavioristic Perspective (1)
 organized so students experience master the subject matter
 prescriptive approach
 step-by-step structured methods for learning

10. Curriculum from a Behavioristic Perspective (2)
 careful analyzing and sequencing of the learners’ needs and
behaviors
 specify the desire outcomes, what needs to be changed, and how it
will evaluated
 Abundant drills
 Programmed instructions

11. Evaluation and Assessment
Continuous evaluation of learning comes from the
teacher
 learner does not have any opportunity for evaluation
or reflection within the learning process
Summative assessments are standardized tests

12. Example: Audiolingual Method (ALM)
students should be taught a language directly,
without using the students' native language to
explain new words or grammar in the target language
language instruction happens within the context of
the language lab
the instructor would present the correct model of a
sentence and the students should repeat it

13. ALM Curriculum (1)
there is no explicit grammar instruction: everything
is simply memorized in form.
The lessons are built on static drills in which the
students have little or no control on their own output
the teacher is expecting a particular response and not
providing the desired response will result in a
student receiving negative feedback

14. ALM Curriculum (2)
drills and pattern practice are typical :
Repetition: the student repeats an utterance as
soon as he hears it.
Inflection: one word in a sentence appears in
another form when repeated.
Replacement: one word is replaced by another.
Restatement: the student rephrases an utterance.

15. Examples of Drills
Inflection:
Teacher: I ate the sandwich. Student: I ate
the sandwiches.
Replacement:
Teacher: He bought the car for half-price.
Student: He bought it for half-price.
Restatement:
Teacher: Tell me not to smoke so often.
Student: Don't smoke so often!

16. ALM in a Real Classroom

17. Criticism
ignored the role of contextual factors
transferring learnt knowledge patterns to
real world
One directional
No consideration of motivations, thoughts,
feelings etc.

18. References
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