Techniques for Effective Classroom Behavior-Shaping: A Behaviorism E-Learning Module

 The need:

Classroom management is often described as the area where beginner teachers most struggle (Gold & Holodynski, 2021). In order to combat this struggle, a mindset-shift is necessary within the field of education. Rather than training educators to think of strategies for student behaviors as managing, which implies an authoritarian, top-down nature, teachers must be trained to think about their relationship to student behaviors as shaping. Just as educators shape units, lessons, and activities to maximize learning outcomes, so can they shape student behaviors (and their reactions to these behaviors) to maximize desired outputs. Shifting this mindset from the traditional language of “classroom management” to “classroom behavior-shaping” eliminates the notion of student behavior as “out of control,” which can engender feelings of helplessness, especially amongst novice teachers. Instead, this new language gives teachers back a sense of control, empowering them to ideate solutions that will shape the desired behavior.

The solution:

An e-learning module that aims to provide a starting point for new teachers to think about how to integrate behaviorism techniques such as positive reinforcement and operant conditioning into their classrooms to shape desired student outcomes.