Due to much deliberation (12 hours to be exact) I am discontinuing this blog on wordpress. I am so familiar with blogger, that i just can´t get the hang of this site! so you can find me here————————————>
www.missconfucius.blogspot.com
wordpress doesnt allow anybody to delete their accounts so this one stays but I´m not posting anything !
Sorry Folks! x
LAST SATURDAY I ATTENDED MY TEACHER´S COURSE WITH MUCH ENTHUSIASM. I WAS VERY EXCITED TO LEARN ABOUT BEHAVIOURISM AND ALL IT ENTAILS. THERE WAS MUCH DEBATING GOING ON ABOUT WHETHER IT´S BETTER FOR OUR STUDENTS TO LEARN COGNATIVELY OR BEHAVIOURALLY. VERY INTERESTING FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT IT YET.
BEHAVIOURISM REFERS TO THE CONCEPT OF CONDITIONING. IF A CHILD GROWS UP AND YOU REPEATEDLY TEACH HIM/HER THAT THE PEN IS BLACK, THE PEN IS BLACK, THE PEN IS BLACK, HE/SHE WILL EVENTUALLY BELIEVE THAT THE PEN IS BLACK WITHOUT CONSIDERING ANOTHER COLOR. IF I REPEATEDLY TELL A CHILD - BOYS WHO CRY ARE MOMMY´S BOYS-, EVENTUALLY THE CHILD WILL BELIEVE THAT IT´S THE TRUTH. THE SAME GOES FOR LEARNING ENGLISH.
IF I HAVE MY STUDENTS REPEAT VOCABULARY EVERY DAY, THEY WILL EVENTUALLY LEARN NEW VOCABULARY THROUGH REPETITION AND NOT NECCESARILY THROUGH UNDERSTANDING. THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY BEHAVIOURISM IS SO FLAWED, AND DOESN´T QUITE COINSIDE WITH MODERN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING/TEACHING.
STUDENTS DON´T NECCESARILY HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE LANGUAGE AND FIGURE THINGS OUT FOR THEMSELVES. ALL THEY NEED TO DO IS TRUST, I AM TEACHING THEM THE RIGHT THING AND THEY WILL BELIEVE IT´S TRUE.
ON THE OTHER HAND WE HAVE COGNITIVISM, WHICH IS LEARNING BY THINKING AND UNDERSTANDING. -A TACTILE AND FACTORY WAY OF TEACHING, COGNITIVISM INVITES THE LEARNER TO ANALYZE AND LOOK FOR THEIR OWN SOLUTIONS, ANSWERS AND SENSE. IF I SAY THE PEN IS BLACK THEY MIGHT LEARN BETTER KNOWING THAT, THE PEN- IS A SUBJECT, IS- IS THE VERB TO BE IN PRESENT AND BLACK-IS A COLOR ADJECTIVE. THEREFORE CREATING LANGUAGE PATTERNS AND ULTIMATELY GENERATING NEW LANGUAGE.
USING FORMULAS
eg. S+Vpres+Adj
WOULD FORCE THE STUDENT TO THINK AND ANALYZE ABOUT USING OTHER GRAMMAR TOOLS WHEN CREATING NEW SENTENCE STRUCTURES. THEREFORE ENCOURAGING STUDENTS TO PRACTISE BEING ANALYTICAL IN FINDING ANSWERS FOR NOT ONLY LANGUAGE LEARNING BUT POSSIBLY REAL LIFE SITUATIONS TOO.
THROUGH TIME AND EVOLUTION IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM AND TEACHING METHODS, STUDENTS HAVE STARTED QUESTIONING AND CHALLENGING THE LANGUAGE MORE, THOSE WHO ARE COGNATIVISTS SEEM TO GRASP THE CONCEPT QUITE EASILY AND THOSE WHO ARE MORE BEHAVIOURIST ORIENTATED IN THEIR LEARNING, FIND IT HARD TO BREAK PATTERNS BECAUSE THEY ARE SO USED TO LANGUAGE TAUGHT THROUGH REPETITION.
B.F.SKINNER WAS AN ATHEIST, STUDENT AND PROFFESSOR AT YALE UNIVERSITY AND INVENTED THE THEORY OF BEHAVIOURISM. INTERESTINGLY SKINNER BELIEVED THAT, WITH THE RIGHT SOCIAL ENGINEERING WE COULD CREATE A NEW BREED OF HUMAN BEING. HE BELIEVED THAT IF YOU CHANGE THE ENVIRONMENT THEN YOU CAN CHANGE THE INDIVIDUAL.
KNOWN TO BE THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PSYCHOLOGIST OF THE 20TH CENTURY, SKINNER CONDUCTED MANY EXPERIMENTS USING ANIMALS SUCH AS RATS, CHICKENS AND PIGS TO VERIFY AND PROVE HIS BEHAVIOURIST THEORIES.
ACCORDING TO PROFESSOR PAUL BLOOM FROM THE YALE UNIVERSITY ONLINE SEMINARS, THERE EXISTS TWO KINDS OF STIMULUS RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS.
THE FIRST IS WHERE THE UNCONDITIONED STIMULUS GIVES RISE TO THE UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE
- FOR EXAMPLE-
IF I HIT YOU WITH A STICK ANYWHERE ON YOUR BODY YOU´D SHOUT:
“OUCH!!!”
WHICH IS AN UNCONDITIONED RESPONSE BECAUSE I DID NOT HAVE TO TEACH YOU TO SHOUT OUCH WHEN YOU GET HURT. IT´S A COMPLETELY NATURAL FOR YOU OR I TO REACT WITH OUCH EVEN THOUGH YOU WEREN´T CONDITIONED TO REACT WITH THAT RESPONSE.
GOING BACK TO WHAT I MENTIONED IN THE INTRODUCTION OF THIS POST.
IF I TOUGHT YOU TO SAY:”MEEAU!!!” WHEN YOU GET HURT, EARLY ON I WOULD START REPEATING “MEEAU” , EVERY TIME I HIT YOU, OR IF I HURT MYSELF, THEREFORE CONDITIONING YOUR RESPONSE WITH CONDITIONED STIMULUS.
WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE OTHER STIMULUS RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP.
WHICH IS …
-CONDITIONED STIMULUS GIVING RISE TO THE CONDITIONED RESPONSE-
B.F. SKINNER DID AN EXPERIMENT WITH A DOG USING A BELL.
WHENEVER THE BELL RANG, THE DOG WOULD BE FED, SO WHEN THE BELL RANG THE DOG WOULD EAT. THE EXPERIMENT WAS ABOUT SALIVA GENERATION WHICH WAS PREVALENT AFTER CONDITIONING THE DOG´S RESPONSE WITH THE CONDITIONED STIMULUS- AKA -THE BELL. EVENTUALLY WHEN THE DOG HEARD THE BELL IT WOULD AUTOMATICALLY ASSOCIATE FOOD WITH THE SOUND OF THE BELL AND SALIVA WOULD START FLOWING FROM HIS MOUTH.
LATER, WHEN THE BELL RANG, SKINNER TOOK AWAY THE FOOD AND THE DOG STILL CONTINUED TO GENERATE SALIVA FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME UNTILL IT GRASPED THAT THERE WOULD BE NO FOOD FOR HIM WHEN THE BELL RANG. A SHORT WHILE AFTER, “SPONTANIOUS RECOVERY” WOULD OCCUR WHEN THE FOOD WOULD BE RE-INTRODUCED THE DOG WOULD RETURN TO IT´S SALIVA GENERATING BEHAVIOUR.
” I NOW BELIEVE THAT SKINNER´S THEORY CAN BE USED ON PEOPLE, ENGLISH TEACHING AND ALSO HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS, ESPECIALLY ROMANTIC ONES”
I WILL EXPLAIN HOW IN MY NEXT POST…
I´VE RECENTLY STARTED DOING RESEARCH ON TEACHING METHODS AS I´M CURRENTLY TAKING A TEACHER´S COURSE AT A LOCAL LANGUAGE INSTITUTE IN THE CITY WHERE I LIVE. I LOVE TEACHING, BUT MOST OF ALL I LOVE LEARNING.
I SOMETIMES WONDER IF I´M BEING PUNISHED FOR BEING A DIFICULT STUDENT WHEN I WAS A TEEN, WITH MY NOW TEENAGE STUDENTS. BEFORE THIS TEACHING JOB CAME ALONG I WAS TEACHING PRIVATELY FROM HOME AND DID QUITE WELL, TEACHING BUSINESS ENGLISH TO PROFESSIONALS, STUDENTS AND KIDS. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I´VE HAD TO DEAL WITH 25 PRE- ADOLESCENT TEENAGERS, AND TRUTH BE TOLD, AT TIMES IT CAN BE TOUGH. I´D LIKE TO THINK MY STUDENTS ARE LEARNING, BUT MOST OF THEM ARE ACTUALLY QUITE LAID BACK AND PREFER TO BREEZE THROUGH EACH SEMESTER JUST DOING THE MINIMUM ASKED. BUT. WHEN EXAM TIME COMES AND THEY REALISE THEIR GRADES HAVE DROPPED I AM THE FIRST PERSON WHO GETS ASKED WHY.
“WHY, DID YOU LOWER MY GRADES MISS?”
TO WHICH I RESPOND,
” I DIDN´T LOWER YOUR GRADES SEÑORITA/O, YOU LOWERED YOUR GRADES THROUGH NOT PULLING YOUR WEIGHT. THE GRADES YOU GET FROM ME NOT ONLY INCLUDE EXAM RESULTS, BUT I ALSO EVALUATE CONDUCT, HOMEWORK, PROJECTS, PARTICIPATION ETC.”
I DO FIND IT QUITE IRONIC THAT THE “AVANT GARDE” SCHOOLS HERE IN LEON, NOW ADVERTISE THEMSELVES AS USING THE “CONSTRUCTIVIST” METHOD OF TEACHING.
MEXICO IS A VERY LAID BACK COUNTRY AND WITHOUT GENERALIZING THE MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRY ARE QUITE LAZY. IT´S NOTHING PERSONAL, IT´S JUST AN OBSERVATION, AND MANY NATIVE MEXICANS ACKNOWLEDGE IT THEMSELVES. IT´S JUST A CULTURE THING I GUESS. BUT GETTING BACK TO TO CONSTRUCTIVISM, I REALLY DON´T THINK THE METHOD IS RELEVANT UNLESS IT IS TAUGHT FROM PRE-SCHOOL. STUDENTS WHO ENTER THE SCHOOL AT A LATER STAGE HAVE ALOT OF DIFICULTY ADAPTING FROM THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM TO THE CONSTRUCTIVIST WAY OF TEACHING. REALLY I WOULDN´T EVEN CONSIDER IT TEACHING AS SUCH. I´D DESCRIBE MY CURRENT JOB MORE AS “BABYSITTING” OR BEING A “BODYGUARD! BECAUSE THESE DAYS THE HARSH REALITY OF TEACHING IS THAT, YOU CAN´T TEACH WITHOUT GROUP CONTROL, AND HOW DO YOU CONTROL A GROUP WHEN THE GROUP BELIEVES THAT THEY ARE IN CONTROL?
I MIGHT SOUND A LITTLE BIT SCEPTICAL AND NEGATIVE TODAY AND IT MIGHT BE INFLUENCED BY MY CURRENT EMOTIONAL STATE. WHO KNOWS, BUT LET ME TELL YOU, I HAVE BEEN DYING TO FIND AN OUTLET FOR MY THOUGHTS. AS CONTROVERSIAL AS THEY MAY BE.
TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY.
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