Teacher do some kind of behavioral learning each and everyday. Lesson begin with a presentation or a tutorial and a question is asked for comprehension. The presentation followed by a questions is what Dr. Orey labels as "programmed instruction" (Laureate, 2009). Technology helps with the reinforcing aspect of behavioral learning because it allows students to review material and give immediate feedback on follow up questions. The immediate feedback, right or wrong, gives the teacher an idea of the students are comprehending and what needs to be re-examined.
Technology, also, allows for teachers to do more with drill and practice and reinforcing the material. With drill and practice, the students are able to get more repetition and remediation because the technology is able to monitor the students more efficient than the teacher. The technology is able to increase the difficulty or remediate question by question but the teacher has to be continuously checking over the student's work. So technology helps with that aspect of behavioral learning because it is able to check for learning and give a positive or negative feedback much quicker faster than a teacher.
Each resource does a great job with reinforcing and remediation of student's learning. With all the tutorial and explanations for a right or wrong answers, students are consistently learning the material. With all the fun graphic, students are learning while having fun which goes back to the concept of active learning. Behavioral learning does not have to be a teacher lecturing and at the end ask questions for comprehension. With technology in education today, it allows for a vast supply of resources to help with presentation and questioning of behavioral learning.
Resource:
Orey, M. (2009) DVD. "Behavioral Learning Theory." Laureate Education, Inc.
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Thomas, you have interesting thoughts about how using the behaviorist theory and technology can save time while giving immediate feedback. I picture a class where a student has a simple question or needs some simple feedback to move on. Perhaps the teacher has four or five students to get to first before reaching the students. If technology allowed immediate feedback, the student would not have to wait precious minutes for the teacher to get to him or her. The students could move right on learning or practicing skills while the teacher is still helping others. Of course this would only work for basic types of feedback. More advanced feedback would probably need a teacher and may not be able to be given by the technology.
ReplyDeleteThe tutorial approach that Dr. Orey spoke of is a fine example of how students take a step-by-step practice and adapt to the specific technical directions. This is a very important skill because as you mentioned before, the ability to participate in a drill and practice utilizes the close monitoring from a technology resource such as a computer. As a teacher facilitates this tutorial process, there are many factors that do not need to be address simply because the computer does so for them. For example, if specific outcomes are expected and automatically corrected by a technology program, the students assume an independent learning role where the need to seek help in order to find the correct answer comes from within instead of relying on others.
ReplyDeleteAs the tutorial guides the students through a an interactive program, they begin to identify their own learning behaviors and improve on them. Teachers do have the opportunity to guide the students as the tutorial takes place, and the combination of teacher aid with immediate feedback from a technology resource will only direct our students into the right direction in the learning environment.
I agree with you both. Technology can not be the only way to monitor learning from students. Technology is a great way to to reinforce ideas and to help with feedback for students. Teacher instructions and with feedback fromtechnology needs to be integrated together to hopefully reach maximum learning from the student.
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