The Main Points

• Behaviorists from Watson through Skinner believe all human behavior is the result of person’s prior conditioning and is determined by external forces in the environment over which a person has little or no control.

• Skinner believed that an individual’s behavior is determined by event experienced in an objective environment.

• Skinner” If a behavior is reinforced, the response is more likely to occur again under similar circumstances. Behavior that is not reinforced or rewarded is likely to become less frequent and may even disappear.           

• The role of the teacher is to design an environment that elicits desired behavior toward meeting these goals and to extinguish behavior that is not desirable. The teacher is contingency manager, an environmental controller, or behavior engineer who plans in detail the conditions necessary to bring about desired behavior.

• The student role is active rather than passive. The environment arranged in such a way that certain student behaviors are emitted. It is essential that students act so that their behavior can be reinforced. If there is a change in behavior students learn, and if he or she response occurs again under similar circumstances.

• Behavioral learning promotes skill development and behavioral change as the main purpose and goal.

• Learners are encouraged to take an active role in learning.

• Practicing new behaviors and receiving feedback is common in the educational process.

• Students are strongly influenced by their environment and interaction with their teacher and peers.

• An instructor in this area tends to manage the classroom activities more so than other philosophies. Learning processes are predetermined and directed by the teacher.

• Teachers should create a good environment for teaching and learning. Working with students in a good environment allows them to be comfortable and encourages them to interacted. Classroom activities give students the opportunity to work independently as well as with each other.