Applying "Behaviorism" in the classroom.

I think one of the most productive ways to incorporate behaviorism in the classroom is to do it in preparation for a test or exam. My idea is to send students home with a moderate sized bank of questions that they can study and find the answers knowing that those question will be used on a review for the test the following day in which know they could win prizes. I would then create a set of cards for the students which had all the answers to the questions on them. I would give the students questions from the list of questions I sent home. Every time I asked a question, I would give the students 10 seconds to find the right card and then have them all hold up their cards at the same time. If they held up the right answer, I would give them a piece of candy. I could also modify this strategy to do a process of elimination. As students held up their cards, the students who raised the appropriate cards could go onto the next round, and the winner/winners could receive a larger prize than a small piece of candy I would give in the first game. I think this game would represent the behavior style of teaching because I am using incentives to try and garner the results I am aiming towards. If students know ahead of time that if they study their questions they could receive an award, I think I would have a better chance of getting the students to actually study for the test. I also think the fact the game allows student to "showoff" what they know increases the likelihood that the activity leads to a positive experience for the students.

What is "Behaviorism"

The study of "Behaviorism" in education is a scientific approach to understanding how to run a classroom using psychological studies that can cross into educational pedagogy. The aim is to educate teachers on how to get what they want from students, by using behavioral incentives and or behavior conditioning. By understanding what "stimulates" students and what types of behavioral conditions will drive "results" that will prompt students to not only behave better, but learn material in certain ways. Behaviorists could be labeled as "carrot" teachers because the goal is to reward students for successful behaviors, while dissuading bad behaviors. The study of "Pavlov's dog" is a prime example of the type of thought behind the science. By substituting the student with the dog, one can imagine the desired goal of creating students that associate good behavior with desired outcomes, much like the dogs associated the sound of the bell with food.

My Most Memorable Learning Experience

My most memorable moment in school was my freshman English class when we read Romeo and Juliet. We were reading Romeo and Juliet and we had to act out a scene from the play. It was the scene with the duel between Romeo and Mercutio, and I got to play Romeo. I was always a bit of a class clown, and I really got into the scene. I even memorized my lines. It was one of the few moments in my K-12 career that I felt like I really excelled at something. It was nothing spectacular, but I will always remember Romeo and Juliet because of the way Mr. Jones taught the play. It was not just acting out that scene either. He found ways to make the play not only fun, but made it relevant. He talked about gang culture and class divisions. I love literature, and that is only reading I remember from my middle/high school career. I was not a good student, and I still read the play, which I think says a lot about the way Mr. Jones taught the play. Out of all the teachers I had in high school, he was the only one I actually cared about what he thought of me. I talked a lot in class, but he had a way of dealing with it that was different. He let me be me, and as long as I was not harming the flow of class he did not seem to mind all my stupid comments. Instead, he seemed to play off me in a way I never experienced with another teacher. It is funny that I have not really thought about him for years until writing this entry. My high school career was such a negative experience, that it seems like I suppressed everything; yet, his class still stands out far more vividly in my memory than any other class I had in school.

Letter to My Future Self

Dear Aaron,

I really hope you found a job by now! But in all seriousness, I really hope you've made the difference you set out to make. Ten years of teaching has either left you feeling like you have discovered your calling, or has you ready to go get a PhD. I hope it's the former. Juggling the different requirements of your job is tough, but I imagine you've found some solid balance. Reaching students that come from tough backgrounds was always your goal, and I hope you have not given up on them. I know kids like you were can be tough to reach. Still, you can never forget how important it is to try. Your own kids are teenagers now, and I hope you've been successful in teaching them a love for learning that you always had, but never knew what to do with at their age. I think more than anything, I want you to always keep your eye on the prize. You set out to make a difference. You might not be able to reach every kid, but I think every kid you do reach is worth the effort. Hold on to the good moments, but learn from the bad. Always remember, everyone has potential, they just need to recognize it.

Always remember your "why,"

Aaron Brumbach

About the Author

My name is Aaron Brumbach. I was born in Redmond, Oregon. I am a husband, father, son, friend, and an aspiring teacher. I am not perfect in any of these areas, but my desire is to improve at all of them every day. I am an eternal optimist. This does not mean I am not a realist, rather, I feel that life is a journey and the attitude people have during their journey determines their destination.

Growing up in Central Oregon left me with many great memories and life experiences that I will cherish until my dying days. However, I grew up poor, and I found myself struggling in school, as well as at home. My family was homeless for a period during my elementary years, and education became secondary in my household. Out of four siblings, only one of us would go on to finish high school. During my sophomore year of high school, my father went to jail, and then my brother, who I was very close to, went to prison. The only thing that kept me in school was basketball, and I when I failed to make the team as a sophomore, I no longer had a desire to stay in school. I dropped out, pointed my middle finger to the system and never looked back.

We never affiliated with people who were educated growing up, not by choice, but life has a way of keeping the classes separated. I started working in construction at the age of 17, and I still work in construction . Even though I always felt like life was not fair, I stayed optimistic. I worked hard and had some financial success, and even though it was not a lot, it felt like it during the time. When you grow up with nothing, money has an effect that people who have had it cannot understand. Helping your mother pay her bills is empowering; however, when you come from poverty, easy come easy go.

During this period of my life I met a woman whom would go on to be my wife, and everything started to change. She was smart, not a little smart, the valedictorian of her high school smart. We were a match made in some deranged version of heaven. As the years passed, so did my content with the life I created for myself. I loved my wife, but I wanted more for myself on a personal level. She went on to become a teacher. The people we associated with started to include those of a class I always felt uncomfortable around. I felt judged. Even though that was not their intention, educated people in society have a tendency to make uneducated people  feel inferior, especially a high school dropout. I felt the need to prove myself.  I wanted to like the person I was when I lied awake at night. I wanted to show that I was not just a statistic. I wanted to make sure that kids like me knew they were not inferior. That is when I decided to go to college to be a teacher, and my goal was to get into the UOTeach program when it was all said and done.

I started college at 27. I was terrified. Walking through the doors into Tillamook Bay Community College felt like swimming into the belly of a whale. I was in a world that left me feeling alone, vulnerable, and unsure of which end I was going to come out on. All I knew was that I could not fail. I watched hours of YouTube videos to try and to learn about grammar and math. I dedicated myself to what I was doing. My wife would look at my papers and cringe, and she was hard on me, but her prodding helped mold me into a confident writer. I finished my first term with straight A's.  I went on to finish my Associate of Arts with a 4.0 GPA and a full-ride scholarship, and to top it all off, we had created a beautiful family.


Having a full-ride scholarship opened doors in ways I never imagined. We made the decision to move to Eugene to finish out my schooling. It was a scary proposal. My wife left a job she enjoyed, and having a family with two young kids is not the time to fall back into financial struggles. Fortunately, my wife and I both come from backgrounds where financial struggles were par-for-the-course, so on we went. She found a full-time job a week before school started, and things were off to a good start. I started at the University of Oregon and quickly found myself overwhelmed. Community college did not prepare me for life in a university and my "precious" 4.0 went out the window my very first term. This lit a fire under me to prove myself. My undergrad pushed. I pushed back. The process helped me grow in so many ways that I remain eternally grateful for my time as an undergrad at UofO.

Last April, I got the email I had dreamed about since the very first day I started college. It was from the UO School of Education. I knew it was the "one" I set out to receive nearly four years prior, and I stared at it. Once again, I was terrified. I do not know how long I looked at the email, but in moments like those, does time really exist? When I opened it, I had been accepted into the program. I cried. I called my wife and then we both cried. Here I am, and my journey is just beginning. All I know is I am not who I was, but who I was, remains critical part of forming who I want to be, especially as a teacher.