Overall the concepts we read in Chapter 5 of the Educational Psychology book were ones that I’ve studied previously in undergrad classes (I say previously but it was over a decade ago) or have a vague remembering of the name of the theory or a dusty recollection of the concepts.
Bandura is right on the money with the idea that we must model desired behaviors. Just today for a new student who is on the spectrum, I had to model my expectations of my classroom. The student in previous classes would crawl under tables and scream to avoid work. I explained to her that in Mr. Guest’s class, we only crawl under tables when we are rewarded with fun Friday reading times where I turn the lights of the classroom down and kids can read while lying under the tables. I then modeled what sitting at the desk looked like, and showed the “wrong” way to do things. I would stomp my foot and squeal, this surprised the little girl that I would do this but it gets the point across. The students who have been in my class this year and last giggled because they understood what I was doing. After all, I taught them all the same way with explicit instruction.
Students, especially those on the autism spectrum who struggle with social cues and normative behaviors in classroom settings, need that direct model of correct and incorrect behaviors. I would argue that in the modern classroom, all students need direct instruction on desired behaviors to ensure understanding as well as what the expectations are for the classroom.
The Premack Principle of pairing undesired activities with desired or enjoyable activities to support students in completing the undesired activities is something that we in the Special Education world do all the time but I never knew there was a name for it. I use this principle to help my students in the special education classroom complete tasks they normally avoid such as writing or solving math problems.
I feel know having a firmer foundation of these theories and techniques can support me in creating better accommodations for my students in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Knowing how to better schedule reinforcements as the undesired behaviors begin the process of extinction is very helpful because I feel that I don’t have a firm grasp of when is the right time to pull reinforcements or what is too much pulling away where the student goes into “withdrawal” like state and all that hard work goes down the toilet.
Overall these theories are interesting and helpful once I can get these concepts wrapped around my head and put into the context of my classroom and students in a manner that works for me and them.
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