Case Study Continued

Consider your CSEL intervention case study. Are there tools from a behaviorist view for either encouraging productive behaviors or discouraging undesirable behaviors that you could apply to the case? What are they?

Now, compare the interventions that you have identified above with what you think might work from a cognitive or constructivist viewpoint (you may need to Google for ideas but it's okay to just speculate based on your prior knowledge). How do they compare to behaviorist tools? What are the benefits of each theory, and what are the deficits? Which theory might play a larger role in how you determine classroom management?

Elementary Education Case Study
You engage your third grade students in cooperative learning activities at least twice a day, changing heterogeneous group members once every four weeks. You have agreed upon routine procedures that your classroom community uses within their small groups, including the roles and responsibilities of group members. Lately you have noticed that one small group always seems to have difficulty grasping material and completing their project in an acceptable manner. You observe this group carefully and find that Lisa seems to be the catalyst for their problems. She gets angry with others if she does not get the job she wants and refuses to do her part in contributing to the group’s learning. She constantly interrupts others in her group. She does not pay attention when her group prepares for class presentations.

There are many behaviorist theories that I would consider in this case study and I think that many are used regularly in elementary classrooms. One system that is clearly behaviorist would be implementing a behavior chart with consequences and rewards. You can use reinforcements for good behavior, such as students receive extra recess time for good behavior (positive reinforcement) and taking away recess for bad behavior (negative consequence). In the case study that I worked with previously, I stated that if a problem persists over time I would remove her from the group and have her work on her own. This would be an example of negative consequence, because I am removing her from something desirable (being a group) in hopes that the action (being distracting/not working well with others) decreases.

When using a constructivist approach, I would not use reinforcement or punishment like I would in a behaviorist setting. In a constructivist approach, I would explain to Lisa what she is doing wrong and discuss with her what we could do to help fix the problem and why it is a problem in the first place that she is being disruptive and unhelpful. Lisa and I could maybe come up with a consequence when she is being off task and a cue that I give her when she is being off task. In my previous post, I said that I could tap on Lisa's desk to get her attention and make sure she is on task, this could be a cue that we come up with together to make sure she is working well in the group.

I think that as a first year teacher, it is easier to implement a behaviorist system for classroom management in your classroom because it is very straight forward with reinforcements and punishments put into place and set in stone. I think that as I progress as a teacher I would like to move more toward a constructivist classroom, where students can notice their behaviors, explain why they are not acceptable and fix them themselves. Like I said, this constructivist classroom would come more with time, practice and knowledge of how a classroom really runs.