When I was reading the section about satiation, I didn't really understand how this could be used to decrease inappropriate behavior. In this strategy, the student is asked to repeatedly perform the behavior that was being disruptive. Even though it said that other other students, and even the student who is performing the action, will become bored eventually, I am not convinced. I feel like encouraging a student to do an unwanted behavior will just make them continue to do it in the future because they feel like they have the teachers approval.
"Change in Environment, Change in Behavior"-This quote is directed toward teachers. This chapter talked about how certain behaviors can be influenced by the environment. For teachers, part of the job is to create an environment that is encouraging and inviting. While teachers can simply decorate their classroom to influence learning, they can also add things during certain times of the day to encourage a quiet atmosphere, for example. In grade school, my teachers used to play quiet music while we were doing quiet work. This kept us quiet, while we were supposed to be learning.
In regards to the section about satiation lets assume the student is constantly kicking their friend under the table. In this strategy the teacher would have the student come up, face a wall, and continuously kick the wall until the student is no longer enjoying it. At first, the rebel and their peers would enjoy this and find it funny that he is being punished. Shortly after though the peers would lose interest and find other things to do. After this the rebel starts to not enjoy it either and becomes bored with kicking the wall. The teacher waits it out though for a few minutes until the student has thoroughly learned their lesson. The student won't be as likely anymore to do this behavior because it is no longer pleasing to his classmates and he has learned that it really isn't that fun to have all that attention anways. After having to kick the wall for a certain period of time the student is going to want to find something else to do because they have become bored with their inappropriate behavior.
ReplyDeleteVery nice overview of the chapter, especially that 'learning is a change in behavior.' It's always nice to understand WHY teachers have always done what they've done (and that they were doing it all purposeful for particular reasons!)
ReplyDeleteI see your point about satiation, and I think it would depend on what's motivating the student to do the particular behavior. If it's intrinsically motivating (they're doing it just for the pleasure of doing the action) like eating snacks in class or stretching, or something that is enjoyable, then I think you might be right in some situations. However, if it's something that isn't intrinsically enjoyable or is done for attention (a source of extrinsic motivation--we will get to that eventually), like if a student dropped a book on the floor and made a loud noise, and it was funny that ONE particular time, then it could be satiated.
For your last part, remember a change in behavior IS a change in learning. :) I think it's more true that teachers make an environment that's encouraging and inviting, but not necessarily structured for particular reasons.... So, according to Behaviorism, if students are able to talk openly, and are rewarded through a comforting environment or positive attitude, then they will be more likely to repeat that behavior. The next module on Information Processing is VERY interesting (one of my favorites) and it explains why teachers have all of those posters with various information to be learned. The students attention and working memory is something that is limited, so that information that is seen EVERY DAY as they stare around the walls has a great chance of being processed....
One last note: I'd like more explanation of how the quiet music worked through a Behaviorism lens. That sounds like more of an emotional explanation (that it calmed students), but how did it act as a stimulus or reward?
ReplyDeleteIt acted as a stimulus because at first it was used solely to calm us down. After using it this way for a while, it became a stimulus for us to be calm while doing our working in the mornings.
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