In this clip from the office, Jim is experimenting with Dwight (and also playing a prank on him). What's happening is that Jim turns off his computer, which has that noise indicating the computer is turning off. This is the UCS. After the noise is heard, Jim offers Dwight an Altoid, which Dwight gladly accepts. Dwight accepting the Altoid is the UCR. Throughout a few weeks (I believe), Jim continuously turns off his computer (which becomes the CS) and offers Dwight an Altoid. One time, Jim turned off his computer (CS) and Dwight reached his hand out automatically for an Altoid. Dwight is asked what his is doing, and then notices that his mouth feels gross. This conditioned response by Dwight was his mouth wanting a mint because he was conditioned to get a mint every time he heard the computer turning off.
As a French teacher, perhaps I would follow this same conditioning technique. I can see how learning a foreign language and being asked to speak/read/translate something aloud in class may elicit a negative response. Speaking in French is the UCS and the thought of having to speak provokes anxiety or an UCR. Soon, the thought of having French class becomes the CS and it is automatically paired with the anxiety of having to speak French/answer questions/etc. or some form of a CR. Soon, students who begin to fear of being put on the spot in French class may learn to associate all possible times of being put on the spot to be anxiety provoking (thus they begin to generalize their fear to other subjects in the curriculum). Perhaps I can work to lessen the anxiety of a student by assuring them that it is okay to mess up sometimes when learning a foreign language. I can make activities fun and engaging, which will encourage the kids to participate and try to speak the language aloud. I don’t want the students to fear speaking aloud and being called on in class (although this may always be an occurrence from other past experiences of feeling put on the spot). I can at least encourage them in my class to want to participate and enjoy learning the language. For learning vocabulary, we could do some sort of flashcard/memory game. Let’s say we’re playing memory. As the students learn the vocabulary and how to associate the picture with the work in French, I will reward them. I won’t necessarily punish them for mistakes, but I will let them know the importance of learning the words correctly. Perhaps we will play memory games in which the students earn a prize for getting the most matches or knowing the most vocabulary. The UCS of seeing the picture can be paired with the UCR of knowing the French vocab word. Then the element of the matching game is brought in and the students now associate the memory game with the need to be able to quickly identify the French word in order to earn their team points, or something like that. Is this the correct adaptation of this classical conditioning for a class? I tend to get the UCS, UCR, neutral stimulus, etc. a bit confused!
There is nothing here.
ReplyDeleteIt was just in black font. You need to highlight it. Or, I just changed the color....
ReplyDeleteI think you get the general concept. I like your attempt to lesson anxiety for students, because it is true that many students fear classes (particular subjects) because of association, and this can be a huge factor in their learning for many reasons. You describe a strategy which ignores mistakes, and that's why a lot of teachers feel such a strategy is useful (valuing mistakes or not seeing them as a bad thing that needs to be punished).
ReplyDeleteRemember that in behaviorism, you're only increasing or decreasing behaviors. Behaviorists really don't discuss 'knowing importance of something', etc.
So, in your example, there are a few pairs that you discuss. You pair the picture with a word, but also with a reward (candy? praise?). In this case, you assume that most students naturally enjoy candy or praise (you will have to know your students well to understand what rewards will be effective). I can't remember a french word right now, but when they properly pair French Word A with French Word Picture A, you reward them, which increases the behavior of saying French Word A when French Word Picture A is presented.