Children who first come to primary school to learn reading, writing, and simple Math, do not usually have the background knowledge or skills to acquire this information quickly; thus, a careful and empathetic approach is required. Methods of finding appropriate ways to interact with school children were formulated by educational psychology, which studies how students learn and apply specific principles in teaching to improve the learning process (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2018). It is needed to resolve various issues that arise between educators and children by explaining how students perceive data and how they learn, showing teachers more effective methodologies to deliver knowledge (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2018). The problem that will be discussed in this case study is behavioral issues in my classroom of second-graders. One student with an emotional disability (ED) will be included in this study to improve his situation through cognitive learning. Since children’s brain is still developing, encouragement and an orderly environment may wire their neurons in a way to prime them so that the learning process is a pleasurable experience and will help them focus better.
Children with behavioral problems often need something more than a simple notification or punishment in class. In these groups of students, teachers should focus more on cognitive learning theories that incorporate memory, attention, and motivation (Kirschner & Hendrick, 2020). Since children’s brain is developing, concentrating their attention on specific details will help them memorize the necessary information faster. Schoolchildren with conduct issues do not always have a poor home environment and abusive parents; some may have such psychiatric problems as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, since ADHD is more of an organic problem, a child with a different ED and behavioral challenges will be selected to test if motivation can help improve this child’s conduct. This student disrupts teaching frequently and has tense relationships with his peers. The intervention that will be used in this case is a behavioral approach.
Behavioral methodologies include classic and operant conditioning that focuses on reward, punishment, and reinforcement of specific behavior. According to Duchesne and McMaugh (2018), these approaches are not concerned with emotional and cognitive components of behavior but concentrate on external factors that influence one’s actions. Classic conditioning implies using an artificial stimulus to train a particular response to a stimulus (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2018). Operant conditioning implements negative and positive consequences to weaken or strengthen an activity (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2018). In the case of good conduct in the classroom, classic conditioning can be applied by using a loud bell sound on a smartphone to gain immediate attention from students. After this sound, learners will be allowed to listen to one of their favorite music singles for thirty seconds, and then they all will need to listen to the instructor. The teacher will ask the children to submit a list of songs they like so that different tracks can be played during such short breaks. Moreover, operant conditioning can be implemented by verbal encouragement if the student selected for the study behaves for more than ten minutes.
Negative reinforcement is an element of operant conditioning, but it will not be used in this project. According to Eggen and Kauchak (2020), constantly criticizing children damages their self-esteem. Still, this paper suggests that objective feedback without excessive negativity is required to show schoolchildren their mistakes (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). Notably, these authors claim that excessive and inappropriate praise for simple tasks is not practical for improving student outcomes either (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). Therefore, although the selected student with ED will be praised for good conduct during the first week of the study, the later stages of the project seem to demand a stricter attitude, such as motivating the one to behave for the entire class time.
Another critical aspect of improving conduct among children is establishing orderly classes through proper management. Indeed, according to Eggen and Kauchak (2020), students learn more effectively in an organized environment than in chaotic conditions. Furthermore, schoolchildren’s behavior improves significantly in orderly and supportive classes (Eggen & Kauchak, 2020). Thus, it is crucial to prepare a thorough plan for every lesson to ensure that students’ attention is occupied with the goal-oriented task, eliminating the risk of not concentrating on the studied subject.
In summary, educational psychology is an essential tool for understanding children and managing classrooms to increase learning efficiency and improve conduct. This case study will focus on changing students’ behavior by implementing the method of classic conditioning, positive reinforcement, and generating an orderly environment. Firstly, classic conditioning will be implemented using a loud bell sound which will indicate that students will have the chance to listen to one of their favorite songs for thirty seconds. It is expected that this approach should create an expectation of a pleasurable experience and will ensure silence during classes. Secondly, operant conditioning will be used partly since only positive reinforcement is planned to be utilized. Thirdly, literature shows that children learn faster and behave under organized conditions; hence, all classes will be outlined and designed meticulously.
References
Duchesne, S., & McMaugh, A. (2018). Educational psychology for learning and teaching (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2020). Using educational psychology in teaching. Pearson Education, Incorporated.
Kirschner, P. A., & Hendrick, C. (2020). How learning happens: Seminal works in educational psychology and what they mean in practice. Routledge.