Blog #2 Behaviorism

 I have absolutely loved working with Ms. Jordan these past two weeks.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy being in her class so much is because her teaching style is very similar to the one I will probably use some day.  Or, I'm considering having a similar teaching style because I enjoy watching the way she teaches so much. It's kind of a chicken or egg scenario, and I haven't figured out yet which one came first.

Ms. Jordan's teaching style leans very heavily on Behaviorism.  Now I must be honest, I don't know if that is just because this is the start of the school year, and she is attempting to set her expected behaviors from the get go, but I would be interested in observing her later in the year to see if her teaching style has changed.  Probably the greatest example of this I've seen is the use of the IPad.  The students in her class, LOVE to use the IPad, to the point that it becomes a constant battle to keep them away from the IPads.  But I've watched Ms. Jordan set very clear expectations.  "You want the IPad, you follow the rules."  Some time the rule is as simple as, "You touch the IPad without being told to, and you loose it for the rest of the day," or "If you are not in your seat when it's time to work on the IPad, you will be doing paper work instead of using the IPad."  There are also rewards once you've followed the rules to get an IPad. Such as, "If you complete 4 units of Lexia, or IReady without complaint, and in a timely manner, you can have free time on the IPad." The lure of electronics is working as a strong reward/punishment system for the kids and they are learning the classroom rules, and expectations by being rewarded, or punished (loss of IPad) thru something they truly enjoy.  It's been exciting to watch because you can actually see the students behaviors changing, and improving almost day by day.  As I stated earlier I will be interested to see if her style changes as the year goes on.  I have already seen sections of Cognitivism seeping into her learning style and anticipate they'll be more.

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