Behaviourism by Group 3

BEHAVIOURISM

Behaviourism is based on the assumption that learning occurs through interactions with the environment. Two other assumptions of this theory are that the environment shapes behaviour and that taking internal mental states such as thoughts, feelings, and emotions into consideration is useless in explaining behaviour.

WHAT IS OPERANT CONDITIONING?

Operant conditioning (sometimes referred to as instrumental conditioning) is a method of learning that occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviour. Through operant conditioning, an association is made between behaviour and a consequence for that behaviour. For example, when a lab rat presses a blue button, he receives a food pellet as a reward, but when he presses the red button he receives a mild electric shock.

Key terms: rewards, punishment, controlled behaviour

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

In contrast, classical conditioning causes a stimulus to signal a positive or negative consequence; the resulting behaviour does not produce the consequence. Remember the experiment Pavlov did on a dog?  Ringing of the bell (stimulus) does not teach the dog how to react, however, it was the dog itself which later understand the stimulus given. The dog began to understand that the bell indicates food and he automatically salivate when the food is given.

Key terms: automatic, involuntary behaviour

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING	OPERANT CONDITIONING
First described by Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist	First described by B. F. Skinner, an American psychologist
Involves placing a neutral signal before a reflex	Involves applying reinforcement or punishment after a behaviour
Focuses on involuntary, automatic behaviours	Focuses on strengthening or weakening voluntary behaviours
It is a learned response	Responses are given through reinforcement.
No punishment or reward. Relies more on association between stimuli and responses	Learning process takes place with such enticement and punishment.
Passive learner participation	Active learner participation

REVIEW PAPER [ SUMMARY OF CONNECTIVISM STUDIES ]

Author name	Research Objective	Data Collection Method	Data Analysis Method	Findings
Ulla Harkonen	-To find out the different of early childhood education and pre-school background theories as theoretical frames of reference for sustainable education and development	-Survey	-Textual material	-Constructivist theory is applicable in early childhood learning.
Sladana Zurkovic 2014	-Able in favour of constructivism and implications in design of ESP digital learning environment -Is to prepare student ( future specialists) to communicate effectively in the professional field life situation	-Textual analysis	-Textual material theory/ principle of study	- Overview of the concept of constructivism and provide a representative view of the advantages in constructivism strategies for ESP teaching and learning
Dr. David Dr. John Pryor Francesca Salvi 2013	focused on pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries.  It aimed to: (i) review existing evidence on the review topic to inform programme design and policy making undertaken by the DfID, other agencies and researchers; and (ii) identify critical evidence gaps to guide the development of future research programmes.	-	An advisory e-user group comprising ministry personnel, teacher educators, educational researchers, NGOs, foundations and other development partners offered advice and support and commented on the draft initial report and draft final report, and responded to enquiries within their area of expertise. 1. Screening and coding of studies for the thematic overview 2. Screening and rating of studies for the in-depth review	This review has found a mutually reinforcing cycle wherein teachers’ positive attitudes towards their training and their students lead them to employ interactive communicative strategies and practices which lead to learning in their students. These teachers see teaching and learning as a two-way social process rather than seeing teaching as a delivery job only.
Joy Cullen 1999	- indicate the interface of content and processes in young children's knowledge construction. It is argued that the professional knowledge base of early childhood teachers should incorporate greater awareness of subject content knowledge.		-Textual Materials

1 ) Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Volume 24 Issue 2 Quality Learning Article 2 1999

Children's knowledge, teachers' knowledge: Implications for early childhood teacher education

Joy Cullen | Massey University

Children's knowledge raises issues for early childhood educators with regard to the extent to which early childhood programs incorporate the knowledge base that children bring to their learning.

Indicate the interface of content and processes in young children's knowledge construction. It is argued that the professional knowledge base of early childhood teachers should incorporate greater awareness of subject content knowledge.

Result:This approach reflects the influence of Piaget's cognitive-developmental theory which promoted the view that children learn most effectively through interaction with the physical environment

As sociocultural theories gain credence and challenge the normative base of developmental theories, such as Piaget's, early childhood educators have become less certain about the status of the child development knowledge that guided their teaching.

The insights gained from the use of qualitative methodologies in natural settings thus

highlight further the need for educators to acknowledge the knowledge base that children bring to early education settings.

( Australian Journal of Teacher Education database ) 

2) Pedagogy, Curriculum, Teaching Practices and Teacher Education in Developing Countries

Dr Jo Westbrook

Dr Naureen Durrani

Rhona Brown

Dr David Orr

Dr John Pryor

Dr Janet Boddy

Francesca Salvi

December 2013

Focused on pedagogy, curriculum, teaching practices and teacher education in developing countries. It aimed to:
 (i) review existing evidence on the review topic to inform programme design and policy making undertaken by the DfID, other agencies and researchers; and
(ii) identify critical evidence gaps to guide the development of future research programmes.

Method : An advisory e-user group comprising ministry personnel, teacher educators, educational

researchers, NGOs, foundations and other development partners offered advice and support and commented on the draft initial report and draft final report, and responded to enquiries within their area of expertise.

1. Screening and coding of studies for the thematic overview

2. Screening and rating of studies for the in-depth review

Results :

The review􀂷s main claim is that teachers􀂷 use of communicative strategies encourages pedagogic practices that are interactive in nature, and is more likely to impact on student learning outcomes and hence be effective.

Pedagogic practices consistent with social constructivist approaches prioritise student-teacher or student-student interaction. Small-group, pair and whole-class interactive work, extended dialogue with individuals, higher order questioning, teacher modelling, showing, reciprocal teaching and co-operative learning can all be seen as justified by social constructivism.

Conclusion :
This review has found a mutually reinforcing cycle wherein teachers’ positive attitudes towards their training and their students lead them to employ interactive communicative strategies and practices which lead to learning in their students. These teachers see teaching and learning as a two-way social process rather than seeing teaching as a delivery job only.

The problem facing governments and funders is how to upscale ‘what works’ in terms of higher student attainment more evenly at a national scale while recognizing that the constraints of large classes and scarce resources are likely to remain the common experience for teachers and their students for some years yet, particularly with increasing numbers of students progressing to secondary school.

Approach revealed how little attention is often paid in the published literature to the details of how pedagogy is implemented in practice.

Resources and Responses to Language Learning Theories

INTRODUCTION:

Language is a complex and dynamic systems of conventional systems used for thought and language. It involved in the process of hearing, language, speech, or a combination of all three processes.  Then, it impaired comprehension or use of spoken, written, and other symbol systems that can represent a deficit in receptive language, expressive language, or a combined expressive-receptive deficit of language. In order to learn this ability to understand language, and expressive language is the ability to use language to communicate, a few theories has been discovered in this course as follows:

• Behaviorism
• Cognitivism
• Contructivism
• Social Interaction Theory
•  Connectivism

There a few more theories in language development and it have different kind of approaches in teaching or learning the language usually most of it uses to develop the language skills in classroom.

1. Behaviourism and Cognitivism

Behaviourism is a psychological movement that can be contrasted with philosophy of mind. The basic premise of radical behaviorism is that the study of behavior should be a natural science, such as chemistry or physics, without any reference to hypothetical inner states of organisms as causes for their behavior. Behaviorism takes a functional view of behavior.

Behaviorism is described as a developmental theory that measures observable behaviours produced by a learner’s response to stimuli. Responses to stimuli can be reinforced with positive or negative feedback to condition desired behaviors. Punishment is sometimes used in eliminating or reducing incorrect actions, followed by clarifying desired actions. Educational effects of behaviourism are key in developing basic skills and foundations of understanding in all subject areas and in classroom management.

The behaviourist approach to teaching has practical applications in education. In particular, understanding basic skills and core subject knowledge. The approach of using positive and negative reinforcements to elicit desired behaviors of students is also useful in establishing and maintaining classroom management.

The first coherent theory of learning was behaviourist theory based mainly on the work of  I.P. Pavlov from Soviet Union and B.F. Skinner from United States. The simple but powerful theory said that learning is a mechanical process of habit formation and proceeds by means of the frequent reinforcement of a stimulus-response sequence.

Behaviourism is primarily associated with Pavlov (classical conditioning) in Russia and with Thorndike, Watson and particularly Skinner in the United States (operant conditioning). 

Behaviourism is dominated by the constraints of its (naïve) attempts to emulate the physical sciences, which entails a refusal to speculate about what happens inside the organism. Anything which relaxes this requirement slips into the cognitive realm. 

Much behaviourist experimentation is undertaken with animals and generalised. Some critics see this as limiting its capacity to address complex behaviour, such as speech (and one of the most devastating criticisms of Skinner came in Noam Chomsky's review of Verbal Behaviour).

In educational settings, behaviourism implies the dominance of the teacher, as in behaviour modification programmes. (A correspondent points out that all instruction is based on the structuring and guidance of the teacher; the question really concerns the engagement of the learners with the process, rather than its imposition on them.)

It can, however, be applied to an understanding of unintended learning. Looked at through the lens of behavioural analysis, everything which happens in a classroom (between students themselves as well as between teacher and students) reinforces some aspect of behaviour. See below on behaviourism as a descriptive perspective. For our purposes, behaviourism is relevant mainly to: skill development, and the "substrate" (or "conditions", as Gagné puts it) of learning.

Cognitivism can be define as the psychology of learning which emphasizes human cognition and also known as cognitive development.The underlying concepts of cognitivism involve how we think and gain knowledge. Cognitivism involves examining learning, memory, problem solving skills, and intelligence. Cognitive is use to understand how problem solving changes throughout childhood, how cultural differences affect the way we view our own academic achievements, language development.

Jean Piaget theorized that there are four stages of Cognitive Development:

The first is a sensorimotor stage. This stage typically lasts until a child is about two years old.  During the sensorimotor stage, a child explores the world through his senses which are taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell.  A child will develop an awareness that things and people exist even when the child is not there.  For example, at the completion of this stage, a child is aware that his toys are still in the living room, even when he is in his room and cannot see them.  A child will also develop some motor skills during this time.  However, children typically have no understanding of symbolic representation.

The final three stages are operational stages.The preoperational stage occurs when a child begins and continues to develop language and thinking skills, and typically lasts from age two until age seven.  The child also becomes focused on himself and how the world relates to him.

The concrete operational stage usually occurs between the ages of seven and twelve. During the concrete operational stage, a child begins to see the world in relation to others, not just himself.  Children also begin to develop locigal thinking; they begin to understand that the way objects are set up has nothing to do with the amount of an object. For example, children will begin to understand that in the following pictures, even though they are set up differently, different colors, etc., there are still only four boxes in each picture.
 
The final stage of Piaget's theory is known as the formal operational stage.  The formal operational stage begins around age twelve and lasts throughout our adult lives.  During this stage we develop both logical and abstract thinking.  Our thought process is ever changing. For example, if you ask a four year old girl why she eat apples, she may say, "they're yummy."  Asking the same question to a twelve year old girl may get you a response such as, "they're good for me"  Asking a college student in a nutrition class why a person eats apples can lead to an entire discussion on what foods you should eat and what they do for you.   During each stage we gain life experiences and increase our knowledge through them.  Piaget also believed that a child who hadn't completed certain developmental stages could not learn things from higher developmental stages.  For example, a child who has not learned language could not think logically.

2. Constructivism and Social Constructivism

In constructivism, the focus would shift from the teacher to the students, whereby the classroom should no longer be a place where the teacher “pours” knowledge into passive students who would only wait like empty vessels to be filled. The constructivist model urges the students to be actively involved in their own process of learning. The process of constructivism in learning works in the sense that both students and teachers assume knowledge to be a dynamic, ever-changing view of the world we live in and the ability to successfully stretch and explore that view, as opposed to inert tidbits of information to be memorised.

Key assumptions of this perspective include:

1.     What the student currently believes, whether correct or not, is important.

2.     Despite having the same learning experience, each individual will base their learning on the understanding and meaning personal to them.

3.     Understanding or constructing meaning is an active and continuous process.

4.     Learning may involve some conceptual changes.

5.     When students construct a new meaning, they may not believe it but may give it provisional acceptance or even rejection.

6.     Learning is an active, not a passive, process and depends on the students taking responsibility to learn.

Solving problems is the main activity in a constructivist classroom. Students use inquiry questions to ask questions, investigate a topic, and use a variety of resources to find solutions and answers. As students explore the topic, they become more able to draw conclusions, and as exploration continues, the conclusions would be revisited. This process would occur continuously.

Constructivism and social constructivism share a great deal of similarities, with the exception of the greater emphasis placed on the learning through social interaction, and the value of cultural background.  Vygotsky believes that culture gives the child the cognitive tools needed for development, and adults in the child’s environment are conduits for the tools of culture, including language, cultural history, social context, and a more recent electronic forms of information access.

Social constructivism applies a collaborative learning process which is peer interaction that is mediated and structured by the teacher. Discussion can be promoted by the presentation of specific concepts, problems or scenarios, and is guided by means of effectively directed questions, the introduction and clarification of concepts and information, and references to previously learned material.

Woolfolk (1993, p, 485), states that “The key idea is that students actively construct their own knowledge: the mind of the student mediates input from the outside world to determine what the student will learn. Learning is active mental work, not passive reception of teaching. “

Honebein (1996, p. 11) advanced a set of goals that aid the design of constructivism in learning settings. These goals are to:

-       Provide experience with the knowledge of construction process

-       Provide experience in and appreciation for multiple perspectives

-       Embed learning in realistic and relevant contexts

-       Encourage ownership and voice in the learning process

-       Encourage the use of multiple modes of representation

-       Encourage self-awareness in the knowledge construction process.

Murphy (1997) presented an excellent summary of characteristics of constructivism learning theory based on a comprehensive review of literature. The characteristics are as follows:

“Multiple perspectives and representations of concepts and content are presented and encouraged.

Goals and objectives are derived by the student or in negotiation with the teacher or system.

• - Teachers serve in the role of guides, monitors, coaches, tutors and facilitators.
• - Activities, opportunities, tools and environments are provided to encourage metacognition, self-analysis -regulation, -reflection & -awareness.
• - The student plays a central role in mediating and controlling learning.
• - Learning situations, environments, skills, content and tasks are relevant, realistic, authentic and represent the natural complexities of the 'real world'.
• - Primary sources of data are used in order to ensure authenticity and real-world complexity.
• - Knowledge construction and not reproduction is emphasized.
• - This construction takes place in individual contexts and through social negotiation, collaboration and experience.
• - The learner's previous knowledge constructions, beliefs and attitudes are considered in the knowledge construction process.
• - Problem-solving, higher-order thinking skills and deep understanding are emphasized.
• - Errors provide the opportunity for insight into students’ previous knowledge constructions.
• - Exploration is a favoured approach in order to encourage students to seek knowledge independently and to manage the pursuit of their goals.
• - Learners are provided with the opportunity for apprenticeship learning in which there is an increasing complexity of tasks, skills and knowledge acquisition.
• - Knowledge complexity is reflected in an emphasis on conceptual interrelatedness and interdisciplinary learning.
• - Collaborative and cooperative learning are favoured in order to expose the learner to alternative viewpoints.
• - Scaffolding is facilitated to help students perform just beyond the limits of their ability.
• - Assessment is authentic and interwoven with teaching

3. Connectivism

Connectivism is a learning theory that explains how Internet technologies have created new opportunities for people to learn and share information across the World Wife Web and among themselves. These technologies include Web browsers, email, wikis online discussion forums, social networks, Youtube, and other tool which enables the users to learns and share information with other people.

Connectivism also driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital. The ability to recognize when new information alters the landscape based on decisions made yesterday is also critical.

Principles of connectivism:

1. Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.
2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
7. Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
8. Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

Connectivism also addresses the challenges that many corporations face in knowledge management activities. Knowledge that resides in a database needs to be connected with the right people in the right context in order to be classified as learning. Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism do not attempt to address the challenges of organizational knowledge and transference.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, there various of theories of language learning that related to ESP. To name a few are Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, Social Constructivism and Connectivism. At this point, we already know that theories in ESP is fundamental and crucial for us in understanding learning in specific purposes occurs. So, let us recap about the theories we already know. Behaviourism is a psychological movement that can be contrasted with philosophy of mind and this theory takes a functional view of behavior. Meanwhile, Cognitivism can be defined as the psychology of learning which emphasizes human cognition and also known as cognitive development. On the other hand, in Constructivism the focus would shift from the teacher to the students, whereby the classroom should no longer be a place where the teacher “pours” knowledge into passive students who would only wait like empty vessels to be filled. We all know by now that Constructivism and Social Constructivism share a great deal of similarities since Social constructivism applies a collaborative learning process which is peer interaction that is mediated and structured by the teacher. Last but not certainly least, final theory that vital and related to ESP, Connectivism. Connectivism is a learning theory that explains how Internet technologies have created new opportunities for people to learn and share information across the World Wife Web and among themselves. We all know that process of learning is complex and unpredictable. From the various approaches to study of learning have produced all these theories to give us better understanding on how learning occurs and why they are so important. All theories are specifically be used in our practical application in our research or studies in this course.

Links:

1. Learn theories of language in youtube 
2. What Is Language Acquisition? - Theories, Stages & Quiz
3. General Introduction
4. Language Learning Theory in Psychological View
5. Book:  Second Language Learning Theories
6. Learning Theories and Second Language Learning
7. Attitudes, Orientation and Motivations
8. Connecting the Dots: Limited English Proficiency, Second Language Learning Theories, and Information Literacy Instruction
9. From behaviourism to cognitive behaviourism to cognitive development: Steps in the evolution of instructional design
10. Studies in Second Language Acquisition (Cambridge)
11. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features from an Instructional Design Perspective
12. Learning in Science-From Behaviourism Towards Social Constructivism and Beyond
13. From Behaviourism to Cognitivism
14. Cognitivism Vs. Behaviourism
15. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features
16. Cognitivism
17. Behaviourism
18. Constructivism and Social Constructivism in the Classroom
19. E-Learning and Constructivism: From Theory to Application
20. Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age (PDF)
21. Connectivism: Learning Theory or Pastime of the Self-Amused? (PDF)
22. Constructivism and Connectivism in Education Technology: Active, Situated, Authentic, Experiential, and Anchored Learning  (PDF)
23. Places to Go: Connectivism & Connective Knowledge  (PDF)
24. Network theories for technology-enabled learning and social change: Connectivism and Actor Network theory   (PDF)
25. Second Language Learning Theories
26. Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism & Connectivism
27. Teaching and Learning Approaches: Behaviorism, Cognitivism and Social Constructivism (PDF)

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) VS English for Occupational Purposes (EOP)

During 1980s, both EAP and EOP (English for Occupational Purposes) were grouped together. This is seen when Carver (1983) identified three types of ESP (English for Specific Purposes): (i) English as a restricted language, (ii) English for Academic and Occupational Purposes, and (iii) English with specific topics. It is noted here that EAP and EOP are categorised as the same type of ESP. This idea is in line with Hutchinson and Waters‟s (1987) view that EAP and EOP is not a “clear-cut distinction as people can work and study simultaneously and it is also likely that in many cases the language learnt for immediate use in a study environment will be used later when the students takes up, or returns to, a job” (p.16).Therefore, it can be implied that both EAP and EOP are geared towards the same purpose or outcome –to prepare learners for their future professions. However, this idea is not accepted by some ESP researchers like Sabariah and Rafik Galea (2005) and Jordan (1997).

EAP	EOP
1.       EAP is the language tailored to the needs of those who study in an English-medium environment at the level of higher education.	EOP is the language in a broad variety of work-related settings, such as Business English, English for Economics, English for Law, and other types.
2.       In education, it designed to teach students a range of vocabulary items and grammar structures to communicate in a limited number of professionally relevant situations	It is designed to teach students to communicate in a broad variety of professionally relevant situations.
3.       EAP programs build skill sets that bridge to the workplace	EOP professionals bring standards and quality to the provision of EOP training, as well as to policy work, consulting, research, etc
4.       Taught  as a  school subject	Taught as a pre- experience
5.       Focus on learning adult	Working adult.
6.       To enhance academic performance.	To generate job performance
7.       It is to meet university’s requirement (or any other educational instituitions)	It is to meet occupational challenges.

ESP vs EGP

The differences between English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English for General Purposes (EGP) are : 

ESP

1. The focus is on training and for working adults
2. As English is intended to be used in specific vocational contexts, the selection of the appropriate content is easier.
3. It is important for the content in the syllabus to have a high surrender value,most relevant to the vocational context.
4. The aim may be to create a restricted English competence.
5. ESP learners are highly motivated because their needs are centered to learning English for job-related function
6. ESP is an approach to language teaching in which in all decisions as to content and method are based on learner’s reason for learning.
7. It is specific to target learners.

EGP

1. The focus often on education and usually for high school students.
2. As the learners’ future needs are impossible to predict, the course content is more difficult to select
3. Due to the above point, it is important for the content in the syllabus to have a high surrender value.
4. EGP courses responsible to the general language acquisition and for the vast majority of learners, they are extremely useful.
5. EGP mostly focused on the grammar, language structure, and general vocabulary.For example in EGP it focus on general situation, appropriate dialogue with English teacher, telephone operator as well as the lesson on how to read and write in English.
6. EGP is learned where English is spoken for everyday use.
7. All language skills are at the same level of proficiency (listening, reading, writing and speaking).