Behaviourism In Learning

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Introduction This assignment is based on ‘behaviourism’ to learning. In this assignment, I have explained in my own words what is meant by behaviourism to learning. Also, I have described two ways in which the behaviourism has been applied in education. In addition to that, I have provided two criticism of the behavior in education. To conclude the assignment I have highlighted and criticized behavioural learning theory in the light of literature review and other references. ‘Behaviourism’ to learning In my opinion, behaviourism to learning focuses on behaviour that can be observed from students. In terms of B.F Skinners perspectives, behaviourism is the theory which studies external human behaviour rather than internal…show more content…
Teachers can mould students and make them behave how the teacher wishes. As far as Watson’s statements on behaviour are concerned, any person or any child can be trained to perform any task or action no matter genetic background, personality traits and internal thoughts. If the child or a person can be conditioned in a proper way, behaviour can be modified as per our wish. Application of behaviourism in Education Since I am a Mathematics teacher, in my class I can use behaviourism theory in different situations. Once we understand how behaviorist principles work, we can apply them effectively in our classroom. According to (Cherry, 2005), certain behaviour can be learned by means of conditioning. Conditioning is what occurs through interaction with the environment. Behaviourists believe that our responses to environmental stimuli can influence our actions. Developmental Psychology (0759) Assignment 1 Aishath Shahuneeza (5753)/BEDS First of all let’s look at the first theory of behaviorism, known as classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is a learning in which an individual learns to produce and reflex emotional or…show more content…
Criticisms of the behaviorism in Education One of the criticisms towards behaviourism is, it is a one-dimensional approach to understanding human behaviour. This indicates, behavioural theory is confined to one area. It does not or it cannot be applied to account for free will and internal influences like, moods, thoughts and feelings. In addition to that, the fact behaviourism does not account for other types of learning particularly learning which occurs without the use of reinforcement and punishment. Behaviour can be adapted when new information is introduced even though previous behaviour pattern has been established through reinforcement. Another critique towards human behaviour is although many experiments were carried out; all those experiments were done by using animals. However, animal behaviour is not complicated as human behaviour. In this regard, B.F.Skinner’s assumptions were dependent on animal behaviour rather than human behaviour. If those assumptions were false, then the entire findings upon which behaviourism rest on would be demolished. Hence, many experiments with human beings must be done to prove the validity of the theory.

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