For EDU 3103, my group has chosen to present about Learning Theories which

consist of Behaviorism, Social, Humanistic, Cognitive and last but not least
Constructivist. Learning theories are conceptual frameworks that describe how
information is absorbed, process and retained during learning. Emotions, environment
influences and also prior knowledge or experiences plays a vital role in how children
learn and view the world, acquire or change the knowledge and skill retained.
Behaviorist look at learning as an aspect of conditioning and will promote a system
of rewards and targets in education. Behaviorism is based on change in knowledge
through stimulus and response conditioning. This type of learner depends on the
instructor in order to acquire knowledge. The instructor must first demonstrate the factual
knowledge, then observe, measure and modify behavioral changes in specific direction.
After the learners attention is gained, then rehearsal and visuals are used to move the
information in the memories. Reinforcement is used primarily as feedback (Woolfolk,
2004).
The term "Behaviorism" was introduced by John B. Watson (1878-1958),
emphasized the study of observable, measurable behaviours. It is a theoretical
orientation that scientific psychology should study only the overt behaviours of organism
and their effect on environment. Among other well known and influential behaviorists in
the construction of this theory are Pavlov, Thorndike and also Skinner. Generally, their
ideas on learning are related with changes in human behaviour but most of their
experiments and observation are done on animals such as dogs, mice, cats and birds in
a controlled laboratory condition.
Learner in behaviorism is considered passive and only respond to stimulus given.
The learner are believed to be at tabula rasa stage where as they are a clean slate .
Their behaviour is shaped through positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement.
Both positive and negative reinforcement increase the probability that the antecedent
behaviour will happen again. In contrast, the negative and positive punishment
decreases the likelihood that the antecedent behaviour will happen again.
While implementing this project, I was having trouble with collecting the information.
At first I went to our school's library but wasn't able to source any books because I was
too late and all the books I wanted was either unavailable or not on shelf. I was very
dissapointed with our school library. But this does not make me give up as i went to my
friends for help. There I found many information and hence i was able to do my project.

Ten slides of powerpoint for the presentation seems to be a lot, but once everything
is put together, it is not enough, lucky enough that we can have hyperlink. At first I
planned to use video to explain the theory I picked but I was not able to find a relevant
video that I think is appropriate for this topic so I stick with the conventional way which is
just plain presentation with a lot of talking.
I was in a bit dilemma when it comes to the part about the activity. I was not sure
whether to choose between origami or grammar drill. When I list down all the
advantages and disadvantages I made my decision by choosing origami. The reason
behind is that I feel that it will attract my students attention and they will enjoy playing
with papers also. I thought them how to do origami t-shirt, frog and also a house.
One of my weaknesses is that I am not good in controlling the classroom. I am lack
of classroom management knowledge. The activity I chose actually make the class out
of control because some of them do not follow my exact instruction. They are lost and
they begin to disturb their friends. Calming down the class is a very difficult task for me
because I am not a person to scold another person. I never develop this attitude. I may
have learned how to control a class after my second School Based Experience. I learned
it from observing the teachers in the school i went.
I believe when there is a weakness there is always a strength. My strength that I am
aware of is that I am good in explaining. I can feel that when I was explaining my slides, I
was able to gives examples spontaneously without any problems. I was actually a bit
surprise because I was nervous that day. When I see that all my friends understood what
I explained, I regained my confidences and I continued presenting till the end.
I have learned a lot from studying this course. I learned that i have to conditioned
myself to not be nervous whenever there is a presentation. Nervous and cold feet during
presentation is a normal behaviour, but if I can conditioned myself to not fear of
presentation, I can surely be very confident each time I present. According to Pavlov's
Classical Conditioning, I can condition myself to learn a new behaviour which is
confident during presentation.
As a teacher, I can actually apply what I have learned in EDU 3103 especially about
Behaviorism in class. Behaviorist techniques have long been employed in education to
promote behavior that is desirable and discourage that which is not. Among the methods
derived from behaviorist theory for practical classroom application are contracts,
consequences, reinforcement, extinction, and behavior modification. Simple contracts
can be effective in helping children focus on behavior change. The relevant behavior

should be identified, and the students and teachers should decide the terms of the
contract. Behavioral contracts can be used in school as well as at home. It is helpful if
teachers and parents work together with the student to ensure that the contract is being
fulfilled. For example, a student did not complete his homework assignments. The
teacher and the student design a contract providing that the student will stay for extra
help, ask parents for help, and complete assigned work on time. Teacher will be
available after school, and during free periods for additional assistance.
Consequences occur immediately after a behavior. Consequences may be positive
or negative, expected or unexpected, immediate or long-term, extrinsic or intrinsic,
material or symbolic, emotional or interpersonal or even unconscious. Consequences
occur after the "target" behavior occurs, when either positive or negative reinforcement
may be given. Positive reinforcement is presentation of a stimulus that increases the
probability of a response. This type of reinforcement occurs frequently in the classroom.
Teachers may provide positive reinforcement by smiling at students after correct
response, commenting students' work, selecting them for special project or even simply
praising them for their ability to their parents.
Negative reinforcement increases the probability of a response that removes or
prevents an adverse condition. Many classroom teachers mistakenly believe that
negative reinforcement is punishment administered to suppress behavior. However,
negative reinforcement increases the likelihood of a behavior, as does positive
reinforcement. Negative implies removing a consequence that a student finds
unpleasant. Negative reinforcement might include perfect attendance is rewarded with a
"no homework pass" and also excuse student from final exam for good behaviour.
Punishment involves presenting a strong stimulus that decreases the frequency of a
particular response. Punishment is effective in quickly eliminating undesirable behaviors.
Meanwhile extinction decreases the probability of a response by contingent withdrawal
of a previously reinforced stimulus. For example, a teacher gives partial credit for late
homeworks but the other teacher thinks this is unfair and thus the teacher decides to
give zero for late homework.
Using behaviorist theory in the classroom can be rewarding for both students and
teachers. Behavioral change occurs for a reason which is students work for things that
bring them positive feelings, and for approval from people they admire. They change
behaviors to satisfy the desires they have learned to value. They generally avoid
behaviors they associate with unpleasantness and develop habitual behaviors from

those that are repeated often (Parkay & Hass, 2000). The entire rationale of behavior
modification is that most behavior is learned. If behaviors can be learned, then they can
also be unlearned or relearned.
In my own observation of teaching, I have found that a behavior that goes
unrewarded will be extinguished. Consistently ignoring an undesirable behavior will go
far toward eliminating it. When the teacher does not respond angrily, the problem is
forced back to its source which is the student. Other classroom strategies I have found
successful are contracts, consequences, punishment and etc. Behaviorist learning
theory is not only important in achieving desired behavior in mainstream education,
special education teachers have classroom behavior modification plans to implement for
their students. These plans assure success for these students in and out of school.
From the above explanation, I can conclude that as a teacher I should acquire the
knowledge in EDU 3103 fully so that I am able to teach my students more effectively and
without any problem. By studying this subject, I am actually at a full advantage from the
other teachers who do not study EDU 3103.