Topic > Behaviorism - 1910

Behaviorism is an educational theory that primarily emphasizes stimulus, response, and reinforcement. Behaviorism also focuses on behaviors or habits that are assumed to be the result of learning, where they are believed to be displayed after learning has taken place. Since this theory operates on the “stimulus-response” principle, it is likely to take place when both elements occur at approximately the same time. The stimulus refers to all the sights, sounds, smells and other influences received from the surroundings or environment, while the responses consist of all the behaviors resulting from the association. Since the stimulus is received from the surrounding environment, it implies that the stimulus is provided by the teacher during the teaching and learning process. After the stimulus has been given, the responses given by the students will appear natural as this will demonstrate that learning has occurred. All behaviors displayed by students are associated with the stimuli they receive from their teachers. According to Alberto & Troutman (1999), there are three types of stimuli, namely stimulating stimuli, consequences and antecedents (as cited in Fetsco & McClure, 2005). All these stimuli were identified based on their effects on students' responses and normally occurred during the teaching and learning process where students possessed different behaviors and responses towards their teachers. There are few theories related to behaviorism. One of these is Skinner's theory, operant conditioning, which involved the experiment with the rat. It is believed that humans and animals learn in similar ways. According to Skinner (1938), operant conditioning is the… focus of the article… and, after conducting a lesson, the teacher will directly ask students to reflect on what they understood from the lesson. Generally, he trained them on how to evaluate or appreciate something from their own view or opinion. However, we need to know that every student will see things differently. Simply put, all three learning theories play the most crucial roles in teaching and learning as they were implicit in language teaching. On the other hand, there are few theorists who have formulated different interpretations towards each theory based on their studies or experiments. However, they have their reasons and evidence that support their arguments towards certain things. Regardless of which theory we find applicable and suitable, it depends on how we adapt to it and apply it to the teaching and learning method.