Blog 1
Discuss a question, confusion, or something you wonder about after reading the chapter (when commenting, look for these questions and answer them)
Something I didn’t really understand was the modules definition of Shaping. It mentioned shaping is when a behavior isn’t being displayed, like when a student forgets to bring a pen and paper to class. But it never explains this example at all. How would you shape a student to bring these supplies to class? I just thought it was odd and didn’t really match the second example given for it, with the child learning to read.
(Choose one) A behaviorism learning theorist believes that everything can be learned through paired associations. CAN everything be learned in this way? Why or why not?
Many things can be learned through paired associations. Associating the color red with stopping or words with pictures is a great way to learn. I don’t think everything can be learned with association though. When learning to read, many words can be associated with pictures and objects but a lot of them cannot. When a child sees the word “particularly” or “such as” or any word that doesn’t directly relate to something, they can still learn what that would be through context or a dictionary. This doesn’t mean that they aren’t learning how to read the words or what the words mean. It just means that they aren’t associating the words with anything to actually recall the meanings.
Shaping is kind of a confusing concept, but my psychology teacher in high school explained it pretty well. Basically, if you have a goal for a student, but they're not anywhere close to achieving it, you can shape their behavior (aka, slowly reinforce good steps and progress) until they meet said goal. With the "never brings a paper and pencil" example in the book, a good way to shape would be to start at a lower step: if they themselves come to class. Maybe you could reinforce their attendance by saying "thank you so much for coming today!" Then, the next day, if they bring a folder or something, but not a paper or pencil, you can say "thank you so much for bringing your folder today! It's good that you thought ahead and brought those materials". And slowly, they'll reach the point where they bring the paper and pencil. You could also give a reward for each step received, such as extra credit if they remember to bring their textbook or something like that. I'm not a big fan of this example, but I hope that clarified things a little bit!
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