Behaviorist Theory

As we are teaching students to read and write in first
grade, we often concentrate so much on the skills and strategies that it
becomes overwhelming for students. Anytime I told the students to take out
their readers for silent reading, or that they had to write a story, there was
always a groan and looks of disappointment. This bothered me. I wanted my
students to enjoy reading and writing.

So in January of last year, I brought a newspaper to school
every morning. Students would walk into the classroom and meet me reading. At
different times, I would burst out laughing as if I was reading something
really funny. The students would look at me and wonder what I was reading.
Sometimes I would shout out, “Oh no!” I did this for about a week without
sharing with the students what I was reading about. The next week, each time I made
an exclamation, I shared it with the students. Sometimes I had to create my own
story because let’s face it, some news are just boring! The following week, I
encouraged students to bring their own newspaper to school. The students would look at the pictures and try
to figure out what the article was saying just because they wanted to share.
Silent reading time became one of the highlight moments for my students. By
modeling the behavior that I wanted from them, they were able to better
interpret and apply the learning to them personally.

I did the same thing with creative writing. I wanted my
students to begin keeping journals. Before I told them about it, I bought a
journal for myself and shared with my students that I was starting a journal. I
wrote in my journal aloud for my students to hear what I was writing. I
expressed my feeling on different topics. They enjoyed stepping into my world
for that moment. The following week, I got them new books and told them that
they would now be able to write their own journals. This was greatly received and
the entries even surprised me at times.

The challenge with behaviorist theory of learning is the
fact that teachers must be consistent.
We know that on any given day, a curve ball can be thrown our way that
sets our entire routine off. It is up to the teacher to get things back on
track.