Educator Instruction

This post will provide a brief overview of what the Behaviourist theory of learning is, and some examples of the learning design approaches that can be aligned to behaviourist theory. Central to the Behaviourist theory of learning is the premise that: Learning is the acquisition and replication of observable behaviour . Behaviour is seen as a response by an individual to a stimulus from the environment, and importantly the individual is considered a passive responder to the stimulus/environmental cues, and shaped by the feedback they receive. It suggests that we learn from the feedback we get from an action, for instance if we are rewarded (reinforced) for an action then we are likely to repeat it, and if we experience negative feedback (punishment) then we are less likely to repeat this action. Over time we therefore learn (and can be relied upon to execute) the responses and behaviours that are appropriate, based on the environmental cues we are presented – we have learnt! In this th...