1. Learning theory-
Behaviorism
By Britany Popovich

2. Table of Contents
 What is behaviorism?
 B.F Skinner
 How would behaviorism be observed in the classroom?
 Behaviorism in my classroom

3. What is Behaviorism?
 Behaviorism is a
developmental theory
primarily introduced by
B.F Skinner
 It measures observable
behaviors produced by a
learners response to
stimuli
 Responses to stimuli can
be reinforced with positive
or negative feedback
 Punishment is often used
in eliminating or reducing
incorrect actions

4. What is Behaviorism? Cont.
 In behaviorism, learning is
the acquisition of new
behavior through
conditioning
 There are two types of
conditioning; classical and
operant conditioning
 Classical conditioning is
when the behavior
becomes a reflex response
to a stimulus ( picture to
the right)
 Operant conditioning is
when there is
reinforcement of the
behavior by reward or
punishment

5. B.F Skinner
 Burrhus Frederic Skinner was born
and raised in Susquehanna,
Pennslyvania.
 At the age of 24 he applied and
was accepted to the psychology
program at Harvard
 As Skinner experimented with rats
he noticed that the responses he
was recording were influenced by
not only what preceded them, but
what followed them as well
 Skinner differed from other
behaviorist during that time
because his main focus was what
occurred after a behavior noting
that the effects or repercussions
of an action could influence an
organisms learning
 By 1931 he had his PhD in
psychology and was well on his
way to developing operant
conditioning

6. B.F Skinner Cont.
 Skinner continued to do
research at Harvard until 1936
 In 1945 Skinner moved to
Bloomington, Indiana where
he served as the chair of the
psycology department until
1948 when he was offered a
position as Harvard
 Skinner remained at Harvard
for the rest of career
 During the 1950’s and 1960’s
Skinner published and
experimented extensively
 1957 he published his book
Verbal Behavior

7. How would it be observed in the
classroom?
 The purpose of behaviorism
is to shape behavior (geared
towards a certain outcome)
by using positive or negative
feedback.
 Reasons that this would be
beneficial in a classroom is
that it:
 1) shapes behavior quickly
 2) learner adapts to the
environment
 3) behavior can be measured

8. How would it be observed in the
classroom? Cont.
 An example of how behaviorism
would be used in the classroom to
shape behavior quickly could involve
a teacher giving “on-time” points to
students that arrived to class on
time that allowed them to purchase
something from the school store.
 An example of how behaviorism
allows the learner to adapt would be
that students learn to write in their
journals every day for this they
would receive a sticker
 An example of how behaviorism
allows the teacher to measure
behavior would be students taking
tests to whether or not they could
answer the questions correctly.

9. Behaviorism in my classroom
 I am a main supporter of behaviorism in the classroom
and will be using this learning theory daily.
 I plan to incorporate behaviorism in my own class from
the very first day.
 I believe that this learning theory is most effective in
gaining a desired outcome from students.
 I hope that I can incorporate behaviorism in my
classroom in a very fun way!

10. Behaviorism in my classroom
continued
 Some ways I wish to incorporate behaviorism in my
classroom is by having certain rewards set up around
the school year that students may or may not earn
depending on their behavior.
 An example of this could be students will receive a
special reward after receiving 10 A’s in a row on
multiplication quizzes
 Another example could include the student that
observed the best behavior that week will be allowed
special privileges for the following week ( such as line
leader, teacher’s helper, etc.)