Behaviorism and Social Cognitivism Case Study

Behaviorism (Ch. 5) Questions:

1. Does Mr. Kessinger's class represent a community of learners as defined in Constructivist theory? Why or why not?

Mr. Kessinger's class does not represent a community of learners. A community of learners is defined as a method in which students not only co-construct knowledge but also work together in the design of their learning environment and curriculum. In Mr. Kessinger's class, students are trained to work alone through the use of class lecture and readings in the text book. When Robin uses her peers responses in her notes, Mr. Kessinger responds by calling her a cheater. This is not a community of learners.

2. Does Mr. Kessinger utilize presentation punishment or removal punishment with Robin? Justify your response using definitions and evidence from the case.

Mr. Kessing does a poor job of utilizing removal punishment with Robin. In Mr. Kessinger's eyes, Robin is cheating by using notes in his class lecture. He uses removal punishment by telling Robin that he will not kick her out of his class if she does not "cheat" in his class ever again. I do not see Mr. Kessinger's reaction as appropriate and this situation is a bad representation of removal punishment.

3. Explain Robin's reaction in Ms. Yamashita's class from the perspective of classical conditioning. Which stimuli are paired and how does that condition her response?

Robin's reaction is a form of classical conditioning in that Mr. Kessinger made her feel that using notes in class was not appropriate. She felt fear when Ms. Yamashita approached her when she had her notes out. Due to her previous experience, she thought that Ms. Yamashita would have the same angry reaction. The stimuli that causes Robin to respond by fear and crying is being asked questions by her teachers where she then looks to her notes for the answers.

4. How might Ms. Yamashita encourage Robin to create concept maps in the future? Include behavioral concepts such as shaping, reinforcement, etc., in your response.

Ms. Yamashita can work on encouraging Robin to create more concept maps in the future by using reinforcers. By using reinforcers, Robin will feel more cared about in the classroom. She will feel that her work is more appreciated and that there is a purpose to doing it. Ms. Yamashita can also use tools such as token economies or contingency contracts to encourage not only Robin, but the rest of the class as well. This will then help Robin become more involved in the class and aid in creating a community of learners in Ms. Yamshita's class.

Social Cognitivism (Ch. 8) Questions:

1. Which teacher in the scenario demonstrates vicarious reinforcement? Justify your response with definitions and an example from the case study.

Mr. Kessinger demonstrates vicarious reinforcement by labeling Robin's behavior of using notes as a bad behavior. This then leads to Mr. Kessinger getting angry and leads to Robin becoming upset and scared to talk in her class. In the future, this will cause Robin to see note taking in class as a bad behavior that she will be punished for.

2. Is Mr. Kessinger considering reciprocal causation in his class? Explain your response, including all aspects of reciprocal causation in your reasoning.

Mr. Kessinger is not considering reciprocal causation in his class because he does not take student's environment, beliefs, and behavior of how they learn best into consideration. Environmentally, Robin learns best by listening to other student's responses. Behaviorally, Robin does not like being put on the spot so she has notes to help her respond appropriately to Mr. Kessinger's questions. Personally, Robin has created a concept map that she believes will help her succeed in Mr. Kessinger's class. Instead of understanding Robin's use of the concept map in his class, Mr. Kessinger instead labels her as a cheater and forbids her to use notes in his class or she will be removed.

3. Which self-regulated learning process is Robin engaging in when she creates her concept maps? Explain your reasoning.

Robin is in the forethought phase where she uses task analysis. She does this by planning for Mr. Kessinger's class ahead of time by creating a concept map where she can draw connections in her learning. She uses this map in Mr. Kessinger's class lecture by making notes of other student's responses in order for her to gain the greatest knowledge of the subject.

4. How do you think Robin's self-efficacy has been affected by this experience. Be specific about which self-efficacies have been affected and justify your response with examples from the case study.

Before her experience with Mr. Kessinger, Robin had a high self-efficacy in that she believed that she could overcome challenging tasks (behavioral component) by creating a concept map to aid her in her understanding of the subject. After Mr. Kessinger ridiculed Robin for using her notes, she then felt that she had done something wrong and that it was not appropriate for her to use notes, therefor damaging her personal components. Therefore, her outcome expectancy was changed by making her believe that using notes in class will result in punishment which is why she ran out of Ms. Yamshita's class crying.