Creating Activities Based on Learning Theories Essay

Behavioral teaching and learning tends to focus on skills that are acquired by an individual but are likely to be applied at a later stage in life. For instance, an individual may learn computational skills only to apply them when he gets a job. Behavioral theories support a number of approaches to teaching. All of them fall under the category of direct or teacher centered instruction. Operant conditioning on the other hand involves the reinforcement of behavior and mainly it is achieved either through reward or through punishment. The occurrence of a behavior determines whether it should be rewarded or it should be punished. To add to that, the kind of treatment administered after a behavior determines whether it will recur or not The following are some of the activities that are mostly observed in the case of behaviorism, to begin with, there are the tutorials; in this case the learner is informed about new ideas mainly through the lecturer. This mostly happen in classroom settings where the teacher gives the instructions on a particular aspect to be learned and the learner is expected to follow and understand what is being passed across. The second activity is games; this is where the learner takes part in games for instance football, races or other indoor activities that are mainly recreational and at the same time entertaining. The teacher on sets the platform to allow the learner explore the skills in various outdoor or indoor activities involving the full attention and participation of the learner. The other activity involves programmed instructions, integrated learning systems or even the graphically organized activities. In this case the learner will be required to use the ability to see in order to interpret the given information before learning is achieved. CONTRIBUTION OF GORDON SHAW IN EDUCATION Dr. Gordon is credited to have found the non profit educational institute called the MIND institute. This was introduced in the year 1998 as a result of a science research that he conducted at the University of California. Dr. Shaw had one vision of teaching all kids irrespective of their backgrounds. Through his institution, a lot of revolution was realized in the mathematics and music curriculum. His research had great impact in the curriculum offered in arts related subjects. Dr. Shaw argued that music is an element of learning that greatly helps to develop the brain and other mental faculties. Dr. Shaw further insisted that all children have a capacity to excel no matter what their present status are at the moment. He always encouraged the teachers to give al student opportunities to lean and achieve their full potential in the long run. He particularly identified students from disadvantaged backgrounds and pushed for them to be given chances of learning just like the other students. CLASSROOM IMPLICATION OF HIS WORK TO PARENTS AND EDUCATORS Dr. Shaw’s work made it possible for teachers to treat all children equally irrespective of their limitations. Teachers also rose to the occasion to protect the challenged students from the rowdy colleagues. Parents who are challenged either financially of socially were therefore able to educate their children with more ease because of Dr. Shaw’s policies. Parents were also warned against denying their children a chance to pursue education. Parents and teachers had easy time to assist their students because they were made to believe that any child can actually excel. Source Tomasi, M. (2006). Psychology of Education. NY: Oxford publishers.