BEHAVIORAL SCHOOL OF THOUGHT Part 2 (Week 5)

Behavioral Approaches to Teaching and Learning Process

In this post, I will be explaining the approaches that can be used to reinforce good behavior in the classroom. There are mainly three ways which are computer assisted learning, mastery learning and applied behavioral analysis. 

a) Computer Assisted Learning

Figure 5.1. Computer Assisted Learning

Through this approach, the integration of ICT is applied. Students will be able to learn how to use applications and software to educate themselves and gain information. Activities in the classroom can also be done through the usage of computers and the Internet.

For example, we UNITAR students have our UNIEC Portal where we can download our notes and also answer and reply forums which will be graded by our lecturers. We also use Padlet.com where our lecturer posts a question and everyone gets to answer and also read the opinions of other students. This promotes virtual learning and also communication.  A healthy competition is also ensured.

b) Mastery Learning

Figure 5.2. Mastery Learning 

In mastery learning, students get to learn at their own pace. As we see in Figure 5.2, the content is delivered through instruction by the teacher. Then the students are assessed to see their level of understanding. If the learning objective is achieved, the mastery is the demonstrated through application in real life situations. If the students fail to achieve the goals, reteaching and correction is facilitated by the teacher. A retest is done to see the progress and improvement of students.

This approach is a great way to make sure that students actually learn something at the end of the lesson and not merely come to class just for the sake of coming. Also, the teacher has to be dedicated enough to put effort to create ways to help students understand instead of teaching in the conservative way.

c) Applied Behavioral Analysis

Figure 5.3. Applied Behavioral Analysis

The figure above shows the process involved in applied behavioral analysis. This analysis focuses on behavior modification through a procedure. Below is the brief explanation of the procedure involved in this analysis.

1. Identification of behavior that needs to be changed.

• Teacher anecdotes behavior pattern of student, notices the change and tries to identify the reasons leading to the change.

2. Determine how student presently performs desired behavior.

• Teacher imposes desired behavior on students and tracks the progress of behavioral change in student's actions.

3. Intervention, reinforcement student receives while performing desirable behavior.

• Teacher proceeds to help student improve on behavior and rewards student every time student successfully completes a task or achieves behavioral goals.

4. Appreciate change and maintain reinforcement until desirable behavior is achieved.

• Teacher praises the student for trying to change for the better and stresses on moving forward to fully reach the target of behavior change.

This is all for this post. In the upcoming post, I will be writing a simple summary of the three school of thoughts to give you a clearer view of what we have learned so far. We will also see whether there is a single best school of thought to cover the entire purpose of education. Thank you and have an edifying day.