EDU10020 Report: Behaviorist Theory of Learning and Teaching

This report delves into the behaviorist theory of learning, examining its core principles and application in educational settings. It explores the theory's features, including the emphasis on observable behaviors and environmental stimuli, and its alignment with teaching philosophies rooted in stoicism and cognitive behavioral therapy. The report outlines the strengths of behaviorism, such as providing clear predictions and practical applications through reinforcement and modeling, while also addressing its limitations, including the neglect of internal mental processes and the potential oversimplification of human behavior. Furthermore, it discusses how behaviorist principles can be implemented in the classroom, focusing on positive reinforcement and the use of technology, while also highlighting the importance of adapting teaching methods to individual student needs and avoiding punishment. The analysis concludes by summarizing the key aspects of the behaviorist theory and its relevance in contemporary education, acknowledging both its contributions and its constraints in understanding and shaping student learning.

Running head: BEHAVIORIST THEORY OF LEARNING
Behaviorist theory of Learning
Name of the student :
Name of the university :
Authors note :

1BEHAVIORIST THEORY OF LEARNING
Behaviorism is also known as behavioral psychology, and the learning theory, which is
based on the theory, is based on the thought that behaviors are required and not conditioned.
Conditioning in the students through interaction with the environment, and according to the
theory, several environmental stimuli shape the action of the student's (Kay & Kibble, 2016).
This paper will focus on the implanting the behaviorist theory of learning in teaching aligning
with the core philosophy of the teacher. The following section of the paper will discuss
addressing the core philosophy of Learning and teaching, which is based on the Greek
philosophy of stoicism and CBT. Then the paper will address the features, strengths, and
limitations of the behaviorist theory on Learning, and the last part will address how behaviorist
theory can be applied in the classroom by aligning with the teaching philosophy.
I think Learning and teaching are both very important to professional development in the
achievement of the student. I think learning for the teachers is very significant in order to
properly impart education to the student. Teaching, for me, is a continuous process that helps to
master new knowledge and develop a sense of proficiency in return, which helps in the
improvement in the Learning of the student. I think as a teacher, it is very important to
understand the minds of the students and understand that the thought and the behavior of the
students will be changing situation as reflected in the theory of cognition (Goldie, 2016).
Therefore, teachers can play a significant part in this situation and help the student in the
modification of the thought process improve the learning capacity of the student. I try to impart
Learning to the students under the cognitive I have developed the lecture in a structured way that
transpires through the cognitive encoding among the student retrieval of schemata and also the
storage (Robertson, 2019). Therefore I try to not only restrict my Learning to the classroom but
to the social interaction as well. My teaching philosophy also relates to the greek philosophy of

2BEHAVIORIST THEORY OF LEARNING
stoicism. Students in the present situation are becoming extremely aggressive due to the
surrounding parenting peer pressure and losing their peace of mind, which is harming their
learning capacity. Therefore, it is very much essential for the student to develop self-control as
well as fortitude as a means of overcoming the destructive emotions in the students.
Behaviorism is referred by the psychological approach, which emphasizes the scientific
objective and the methods of the investigation. The approach of behaviorisms is only concerned
about the stimulus, which is observable to the response of the stimulus and states that the
behaviorist is learned through the interaction and the environment (Scheele & Papazu, 2015).
The behaviorist theory of the teaching says that students acquire many belives and philosophies
only by observing and watching; therefore, aligning with the philosophy, it is important to show
students patience and self-control when dealing with them as the can learn it and apply them in
their behavior. Behaviorist theory also states that it is essential to apply practical procedures,
which will be a combination of reinforcement and modeling, and to manipulate any change in the
behavior (Ouadoud, Chkouri & Nejjari, 2018). The children can be indulged in playing sessions
with the kids, and in this process, they can be taught how to develop self-control patience and
cooperation in the students. One of the important features of the theory is that it forms a decision
when there is appropriate usage of the consequence and reinforcement, rewards punishment, and
reinforcement of the positive behavior in order to cancel out negative behavior. The main cause
of stoicism is that the students need to be positive, and in their behavior, the significant cause of
negativity in the student is that of aggression; therefore, this should be controlled and
maintained.
The behaviorist approach has several strengths, as well as limitations. The behaviorist
approach provides predictions that are very clear. This means that the explanation can be

3BEHAVIORIST THEORY OF LEARNING
scientifically testes as well as supported by the research, which enhances the credibility of the
discipline. Secondly, the theory provides a strong argument for the nurture debate, and this
advantage is that the approach of the theory provides a number of practical applications, and
therefore, the technique in order to shape the behavior is strong. For example, in the class, the
student can be provided a reward for performing better (Sharples, 2014). However, the theory
has certain disadvantages as well as the theory ignores the mental process that is involved in the
Learning, and unlike other its cognitive approach, it does not view this process important. In the
opinions of several authors, the behaviorist approach can learn due to the result of their
approach. During the formation of the theory was tested in the lab; as a result, is it was tested on
the animals. Therefore, the application of the human theory on the individual is very difficult as
humans are much more complex than animals (Sidney, 2015). The theory has elaborately given
an explanation about the principle of operant conditioning and spontaneous behavior. However,
the theory strictly restricted to animals and only to the paper and does not relate to the
spontaneous behavior in humans. Another disadvantage of the theory is that humans are passive
learners, and it altogether rejects the biological approach in human behavior, which is totally
wrong because there are several proof the development of the brain and the gene is strictly
responsible for human behavior.
The application of the behaviorism theory in the classroom is very easy and can be
implemented very swiftly. The students can be rewarded for their behavior by giving them
positive incentives as well as encouragement, and however, according to my personal teaching
philosophy, I would not give them punishment as it may demotivate them, and this may result in
the emergence of negative emotions among the students. Punishment is never a solution as it
only raises negative feelings and grudges inside the mind of the student; rather, these people

4BEHAVIORIST THEORY OF LEARNING
should be motivated to reach the goal. The reinforcement of the schedule can be done to impose
the theory among the students and the focus should be on the desired behaviors. The computers
can be incorporated in the technology, and the spreadsheets and the word processing software, as
well as interactive web-based programs, can be followed in adherence to the philosophy of
behaviorism. Present the desired behavior and responses to the students; for example, instructing
the early age students how to sit in the chair (VanPatten & Williams, 2015). However, nothing
should be forced, and the teaching method should be submissive and not rigid. Everyday
providing a new goal to the student is also important to set behavioral goals for the students, and
consistently creating positive reinforcement, ent among the desired behavior of the children.
From the above discussion, it can be said that the behaviorist theory of Learning focuses
on the behavior and depends on the scientific objective and methods. The teaching philosophy
can be perfectly aligned with the behaviorist theory of learning in the application in the
classroom; however, there are certain parameters as well, which has been discussed above cannot
be applied in the teaching. There are certain strength and limitations as well, which has been
discussed the strength being it gives a clean slate of the mind of the student while the limitation
is that the theory is very scientific and does not find relevant application in terms of human
character.

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