How Can Teachers Use Rewards And Praise - 1435 Words

When we think of our children at school, we think of a well-managed classroom and an organized teacher who is providing ample opportunities for learning. For the most part classrooms are orderly and well behaved. Teachers recognize the importance of classroom management and a positive relationship with all students to ensure their learning. Although this is easier said than done, one of the most difficult challenges as a teacher is managing student’s behaviors. If one or a number of students demonstrate negative behavior, it can cause an environment of chaos and disrupt learning for all students. How can teachers use rewards and praise in the classroom to help motivate and control student’s behaviors? What tools or strategies can†¦show more content†¦(Cherry, 2005) Watson was a famous psychologist that believed people’s behaviors are developed through conditioning and that our responses to environmental stimuli determine our actions. Other famous behaviorists are B.F. Skinner, known for operant conditioning; and Ivan Pavlov, a Russian Psychologist known for classical conditioning. There are several assumptions associated with behaviorism. These assumptions are the perspectives of a behaviorist. The first assumption is that the person’s environment influences their behavior. Specialists believe that people can be conditioned to behave based on praises and rewards. Another assumption is that learning has not occurred unless you can witness a change in behavior. An important key to behaviorism is that the stimulus and the response from the learner must happen at the same time. It is proven that humans and animals learn in ways that are very similar to each other. Many behaviorists use animals for their experiments believing that the results can help explain learning behavior in humans as well. The behaviors in the classroom are one of the most important aspects of the learning environment. It is important as a t eacher to always remember the main goal in the classroom, academic success. In order to achieve academic success as a teacher has to manage her classroom effectively. If a teacher loses control of the class and has to use instructional time to correct misbehavior, it results