Which Theoretical Models Specify the Relationship Between Students’ Behaviors and Learning?

This is supplemental material and you will not be tested on it. It is strongly recommended all students read this important information to enhance the content of this course.

Objectives:
By the end of this section, you should be able to:

  • List and describe the importance of identifying the relationship between students’ behaviors and learning;
  • List and describe the behavioral, sociological, social learning, ecological, biomedical, psycho dynamic, and cognitive-behavioral theoretical models of human behavior; 
  • List and describe (according to the behavioral, sociological, social learning, ecological, biomedical, psychodynamic, and cognitive-behavioral theoretical models) the relationship between students’ behaviors and learning.

         
The importance of knowing theoretical models that specify the relationship between students’ behaviors and learning stems from the fact that authors such as Wheeler & Richey (2010) and Yell and Drasgow (2009) specify that special and general educators’ perceptions of children, and the behaviors children exhibit, determine the behavioral management and intervention strategies utilized in their classroom setting.

There are several theoretical models of human behavior that identify the relationship between students’ behaviors and learning, each of which has led to the development of educational and behavioral management strategies special and general educators tend to use in the classroom setting as specified in Section IV. Below are condensed descriptions of several of these theories.

1.    Behavioral Theory  This theory specifies that students’ behaviors do not occur in a random fashion. Rather, students’ behaviors serve a specific purpose or intent based on the context or circumstances that exist in a particular environment. According to Wheeler and Richey (2010), and Shepard (2010), the behavioral theory specifies that human behavior is acquired or learned based on the interaction students have with their environment. In general, students tend to learn behaviors through operant conditioning. The term operant conditioning refers to situations where behaviors students exhibit are followed by rewarding consequences or events that elicit and maintain that response. Students also learn behaviors by observing and imitating the behaviors of other people around them (modeling).

The type of environment in which teaching is received and learning occurs also influences behaviors. If the classroom environment is conducive to learning, appropriate behaviors occur. If the classroom environment is maladaptive, problem behaviors are likely to occur. As such, when students educated in inclusive classrooms exhibit problem behaviors, educators need to focus on events or activities that are going on in the setting in which the student is functioning. The idea is to identify variables that are causing students to experience problems. Educators currently working in inclusive classrooms need to determine whether there are any antecedents (circumstances -- related to people or events -- that exist in the environment before a behavior is exhibited) that serve as a cue for certain appropriate or inappropriate behaviors students exhibit, which may in turn be influenced by certain consequences that either reinforce or punish the student’s behavior.  Educators also need to use Applied Behavior Analysis (A-B-C), a systematic, performance-based, self-evaluative method to determine the functional relationship between their student’s behavior and the instructional environment, if they are to identify the most effective behavioral management strategies to use. 

2. Biophysical/Biological/Biomedical Theory Human behavior is controlled by physical influences within the body (problem lies within the body).  As such, problem behaviors originate from: physiological abnormalities (e.g. genetic factors; biochemical factors); organic/neurological factors/dysfunctions (serotonin and dopamine); metabolic imbalances; and/or temperament factors influenced by environmental factors.

Students who exhibit problem behaviors are those who (due to organic and environmental influences) chronically display an inability to: learn at a rate consistent with their intellectual, sensory-motor, and physical development; establish and maintain adequate social relationships; respond appropriately in day-to-day life situations; and a variety of excessive behaviors ranging from hyperactive and impulsive responses, to depression and withdrawal behaviors (Wheeler & Richey, 2010; Levein & Nolan, 2010).

3.   Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Theory (Freud)  This theory specifies that human behavior is controlled by our conscious and unconscious desires, which can conflict with one another, producing a phenomenon called

Thus, the human mind is divided into three mental structures that help control our behavior:

When the Ego is not mediating effectively, conflict arises and psychological abnormality occurs.  A student with problem behaviors is one who is constrained in the satisfaction of his needs for safety, affection, acceptance, and self-esteem to the extent that he is unable to function effectively intellectually, or is unable to adapt to reasonable requirements of social regulation and convention, or is tormented with inner conflict, anxiety, or guilt such that he is unable to perceive reality (Wheeler & Richey, 2010; Levin & Nolan, 2010).

The psychodynamic theory also specifies that there are certain predetermined stages of personality growth children go through. Failure in progressing through these stages of growth successfully can result in unresolved conflict, which in turn results in inappropriate behaviors.

Stage Age Characteristics
Oral Stage Birth to 1 year
  • Mouth is the center of gratification (beginning of ego development) – those who don’t move past this stage may be orally/verbally aggressive.

An infant's primary interaction with the world is through the mouth. The mouth is vital for eating, and the infant derives pleasure from oral stimulation through gratifying activities such as tasting and sucking.

 If this need is not met, the child may develop an oral fixation later in life.

  • Examples of behaviors children who don’t pass through this stage successfully include thumb-sucking, smoking, fingernail biting, and overeating.
Anal Stage 1 to 3 years
  • Body becomes main region for gratification.
  • The primary focus of the libido is on controlling bladder and bowel movements.
  • Toilet training is a primary issue with children and parents.
  • Too much pressure can result in an excessive need for order or cleanliness later in life, while:
  • Too little pressure from parents can lead to messy or destructive behavior later in life.
Phallic Stage 3 to 6 years
  • Child becomes preoccupied with the genital area of the body, gets preoccupied with masturbating, and becomes interested in knowing about sex and where babies come from.
  • While at this stage, boys experience an Oedipal Complex and
  • Girls experience an Electra Complex, or an attraction to the opposite sex parent.

To cope with this conflict, children adopt the values and characteristics of the same-sex parent, thus forming the superego.

  • Failure to resolve these dilemmas form the basis for maladjustment in adulthood  ---- one can become sexually deviant.
Latent Stage 6  to 11 years
  • Stage in which sexual drives seem to be inactive or dormant.

During this stage, the superego continues to develop while the id's energies are suppressed.

  • Children develop social skillsvalues, and relationships with peers and adults outside of the family.
Genital Stage 11 to 18 years
  • Last major stage of personality development – characterized by are-awakening and maturation of the sexual drive. During this stage, people develop a strong interest in the opposite sex.
  • If development has been successful to this point, the individual will continue to develop into a well-balanced person

Abnormal behavior stems from an inability to resolve conflict within any of these specific psychosexual or developmental stages.

4. Cognitive – Behavioral Theory  This theory specifies that cognition plays an important role in behavior change. In particular, this theory states that the:

     As such, abnormal/problem behavior results from dysfunctional cognitive functioning; and/or:

 
Children with disordered or problem behavior have faulty cognitive functioning. To change these problem behaviors, special and general educators need to help these students monitor their own behavior and alter their thoughts—in order to change their behavior—by teaching them self-management strategies (Shepard, 2010).

5. Social Learning Theory (Bandura) This theory proposes that social learning occurs through four main stages of limitation:

Thus, children learn behavior through three main processes:

–Observing

In short, children acquire social behaviors by:

6). Ecological/Bio-ecological System Theory (Urie Bronfenbrenner) This theory looks at a child’s development and behavior within the context of his or her environment. It specifies that

These environments consist of the following five settings:

For example, a child’s parents may affect his beliefs and behavior; however, the child also affects the behavior and beliefs of the parent (bi-directional influences).

(scroll down for diagram)

Ecological Theory of Human Development

The child may not be directly involved at this level, but she does feel the positive or negative force involved with the interaction with her own system.

The interaction between:

fuels and steers the child’s development, as changes or conflict in any one layer will ripple throughout other layers.

In studying a child’s development, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.

Thus:

These experiences (called proximal – or near – processes) that a child has with the people and objects in these settings are the primary drivers of human development.

For example, do his parents and teachers communicate with one another often?

Do they have similar expectations of him?

(Flick, 2011; Cipani, 2008)

7. Humanistic theory (Abraham Maslow and/or Carl Rogers)  This theory specifies that humans are not simply blindly reacting to situations, but are trying to accomplish something greater. In general:

These healthy natural impulses can be sabotaged by:

 acting on a variety of unhealthy (dysfunctional) culturally endorsed convictions, or (more sadly) from abusive motives.

There is a whole range of conditions that must be met before any person can work on becoming self-actualized.

According to the needs hierarchy below, people must

Having achieved the basics, they next worry about and work to achieve:

Self-actualization (the drive to do all that you desire to do with your life

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

8). Counter Theory:  states that the school curriculum is irrelevant and labeling is bad. 

Rather, schools should allow children to have more say in their educational destiny. They should emphasize the development of interpersonal relationships and diversity.

The current set-up of schools today makes them major institutional structures for dehumanization in our culture.  Schools in today’s society are:

Children who don’t have the required characteristics are taken off the assembly line and placed in special education.  Others take themselves off.

Deviance or problem behaviors are just adaptive processes children use to deal with an unhealthy school environment or mass production assembly line.

John is a 10-year-old student in your neighborhood school. According to his teacher (Mr. Burntout), John usually becomes frustrated when asked to participate in any reading and writing activities. This frustration usually leads to inappropriate classroom behaviors such as getting out of his seat, talking to other students without permission, and failing to complete assigned work. When asked to return to his seat, John usually argues with the teacher, curses anybody who goes anywhere near him, and throws his books and pen on the floor if pushed to go back to his seat.

 According to his teacher, John has significant difficulties processing information presented in printed format. During reading, John (just like his classroom peers) is expected to read a passage and then write (over the next period) a three-paragraph essay identifying the main ideas and at least two main characters described in the story read. 

John has been struggling reading the book and is a few chapters behind his classmates. His comprehension is usually improved when the book is read out loud in class. However, his comprehension is weakened significantly when he is asked to read the book on his own. Thus John spends most of his time sleeping or describing programs he saw on TV during reading period.

According to the Ecological Theory,

a).   List and describe (in detail) four variables related to the:

that might be influencing and/or shaping the development of  John’s inappropriate classroom behaviors.

b).  What implications does the information you discussed in your response to number (a) have for teachers/educators?

c).  Describe two instructional and two behavior management strategies you would tell John’s teacher to use to manage his behavior.

SUMMARY

The importance of knowing theoretical models that specify the relationship between students’ behaviors and learning stems from the fact that authors such as Wheeler & Richey (2005) and Walker and Shea (2006) specify that special and general educators’ perceptions of children and the behaviors children exhibit determine the behavioral management and intervention strategies teachers utilize in the classroom setting. According to the behavioral theory, students learn behaviors through operant conditioning. The term operant conditioning refers to situations where behaviors students exhibit are followed by rewarding consequences or events that elicit and maintain that response. Students also learn behaviors by observing and imitating the behaviors of other people around them (modeling). The type of environment in which teaching is received and learning occurs also influences behaviors. If the classroom environment is conducive to learning, appropriate behaviors occur. If the classroom environment is maladaptive, problem behaviors are likely to occur. While the sociological theory specifies that the labels we give to people contribute to the behaviors students exhibit in either a negative or a positive way, the social learning theory specifies that students acquire behaviors by observing the actions of important models around them, storing these responses in memory in the form of mental images, determining that some responses are appropriate to imitate or perform, whereas others are not. Furthermore, the ecological theory indicates that there is an interaction between factors in the student’s maturing biology, school, family and home environment, and community that shape the student’s behavior.  Moreover, while the biomedical (biophysical) theory indicates that human behavior is controlled by internal physical or biological factors, the psychodynamic theory stipulates that unconscious internal processes influence human behavior, and that problem behaviors are just defense mechanisms students create to deal with anxiety that is aroused by unresolved conflict between our conscious and our unconscious desires. Finally, the Cognitive-Behavioral theory indicates that a student’s cognitive functioning (how one perceives, recognizes, attends to, reasons, and judges or thinks) contributes to emotional and behavioral problems.

Top