The Theories Of Behaviorism And Constructivism

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As the beginning of my education career approaches, I have geared my thinking toward my professional practice. Throughout this course I have attempted to find useful information to apply in my future classroom. Of all of the theories we have covered, I have chosen two that I wish to utilize to the fullest extent possible. Although there are numerous theories that will apply in one way or another, I hope to make use of the theoretical perspectives of behaviorism and constructivism.
Behaviorism is the theoretical approach to learning that looks on the outside influences of an individual rather than the inside. Behaviorism reflects one’s observations and experiences of the environment along with the behaviors of others, not individual feelings and beliefs, (Ormrod, 2015). In other words, behaviorism is constructed on the basis of one’s learning through external factors that cause changes in knowledge and/or behavior. Behavioral learning is marked by conditioning of stimuli, (Ormrod, 2015). There are two types of conditioning, classical and operant. Classical conditioning occurs when one naturally responds to a stimulus. The most renowned example of this being Pavlov 's observation that dogs automatically salivate when food was presented. Pavlov decided do further examine the behavioral qualities of these dogs by produces a noise along with the presentation of the stimulus to encourage a reaction of salivation. Over time, Pavlov took the stimulus away and just rang the bell. He noted that even without the food, the bell would produce the reaction of salivation. Pavlov used this experiment to further his research and present the stimulus-response relationship in which the theory of behaviorism embodies. Operant conditioning arises ...

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... upon their own levels of understanding.
Teaching is not by any means an easy occupation. When the livelihood and knowledge of impressionable children is in your hands it can be overwhelming and scary. I hope that by utilizing the learning theories of behaviorism and constructivism in my future classroom I can see wonderful results and take charge of my career. I want to teach students that learning is exciting and can open many doors. I think that using behaviorism I can condition good behaviors in my classroom that allow for learning to reach the optimum level. That learning, I hope, will come through many experiences and collaborations that are meaningful and relevant as I apply the constructivism perspective in my lessons. I know it will not be perfect, but I hope to learn as I go and develop theoretical perspectives of my own through my professional practice.

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