Learning Theories Paper
By Jessica Muller
EDUC 205
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Abstract
Teaching is the way for our future generation to learn the skills they need for succeeding in life
and there are some many ways for a teacher to teach and a student to learn and with the right
materials and hard work all teachers can have a positive and effective effect on every student
they teach.
The assumption that a learner is passive in responding to its environment and that their behavior
in learning is shaped from positive and negative reinforcement is known as the learning theory of
behaviorism. The positive reinforcement usually would indicate that the stimulus is active and
present where as for the negative would indicate that the stimulus is being withheld. Which gives
us the defined fact that learning in this theory we would notice that a change in the behaviors in
the learner. Because when we use punishment no matter if it is positive or negative it decreases
the thought that the behavior will occur again, and when used as a reinforcement it usually shows
an increase that the behavior will occur again.
For teachers to have an effective teaching and be effective for all students to be able to learn,
teachers must be able to teach and instruct their class in a way that all students will be able to
understand and learn because all students are different and they all learn differently. It is best that
the teacher knows all their students so that they can meet the needs and instruct all of them to
give them all the skills and motivate them all in learning without any of their students falling
behind, or not being challenged.
I believe that a teacher can be successful in teaching to every student no matter if a student has
the ability to read and comprehend better than other students if the teacher has a good lesson plan
and prepared to work hard in helping those students that struggle with reading and writing by
shaping their learning behavior by controlling the environment that they are learning.
One way that could be effective as a positive reinforce is if the teacher uses something that the
student enjoys doing and takes it away as a form of punishment for their misbehavior and then
the student should stop misbehaving and focus on learning in class. But that may also not work
and the result would be negative for the teacher as effective way to teach those that are having a
hard time. But if the teacher works with their students and finds the problem it will benefit all in
the process and learning could be more effective.
To be a good and effective teacher I believe that a teacher must be able to adapt to the students’
needs and can teach and understand all their students. Every teacher can be successful if they
work hard and take the time to really know each student on a personal level. Students that can
open and trust their teachers are more likely to do well in class then those who are uncomfortable
and don’t feel comfortable within their classroom or with the teacher. I believe that all students
given the correct instruction in class will be able to succeed no matter what type of learner or
student they start of as in the beginning.
References
References: McCullough, J. D. (2008). Kingdom living in the classroom. Colorado Springs, CO:
Purposeful Design Publications.
Schunk, D. H. (2016). Learning theories: An educational perspective (7th ed.). Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
