Theoretical Blog Assignment

I chose my second grade teacher, Mrs. McConnell.  Seeing that I want to teach elementary aged children this is a good fit.  Mrs. McConnell demonstrated use of the behavioral theory.  I remember that as a class and individually we would be rewarded if we could show that we mastered a concept.  Examples included spelling words and math facts.  I remember getting “bear bucks” which I could redeem for prizes in the treasure chest prize box.  We would get “bear bucks” if we got all of our spelling words right or knew all of our math flash cards.  Also at the end of the year, I remember that if we could do all the math flashcards we covered in the year without missing any and in a certain time we got to walk to get ice cream. These rewards made me and my fellow classmates want to succeed and master a concept which made us more likely to repeat that behavior.  Another way that Mrs. McConnell demonstrated use of the behavioral theory was by asking us questions while we were in line waiting to go to lunch and recess.  The students who answered a question correctly got to go to recess or lunch sooner.  This technique made us as students know the material because we wanted to go to recess and lunch first.  I do think that I will use the behavioral theory concept in my future classroom.  I believe giving rewards for knowledge gained made students excited about learning and ensured that they knew the concepts that were being covered.  It is important to have students to enjoy learning and look forward to school.  Another reason that I would use this theory in my classroom is because it is important that students see the benefits the material they are learning.  Sometimes it is hard for students to see the real life application of why what they are learning is important, so by giving them immediate rewards they will be more inclined to learn the concept and over time see how it fits into everyday life.