Behavioral Approach to Classroom Instruction: Strengths and Criticisms

Introduction: Behavioral Theory in Classroom Instruction

There are different benefits and strengths of instruction and classroom management grounded in behavioral theory. Human beings learn by acting on the environment around them — individuals act on the world, transform it, and are in turn transformed by the consequences of their actions. Crucially, individuals learn most effectively within a responsive environment, and behaviorally based instruction aims to create precisely that kind of setting.

Strengths of the Behavioral Approach

Teachers who use praise and rewards in response to student behavior and performance help foster a productive learning environment. Another key advantage of this approach is the maintenance of intrinsic motivation. Through the use of tangible rewards — whether tied to the completion of a specific task or given unexpectedly — fundamental motivation can be preserved. According to Eisenberg et al. (1999), reward procedures that require high task performance signal the personal or social importance of a task, which in turn increases intrinsic motivation.

This approach also builds student confidence. Rewards provide students with feedback about their improving mastery and understanding of a topic, strengthen self-assurance, and make tasks more engaging. This is especially beneficial for students who lack either the ability or initial interest in certain subjects. Teachers can use this approach to enhance the performance of students who might otherwise disengage (Woolfolk, 2016).

Risks and Criticisms of Behavioral Instruction

Despite its advantages, instruction and classroom management based on behavioral theory carries real risks. One significant risk involves the misuse or manipulation of behavioral learning approaches, which can become ethically problematic. As noted by Woolfolk (2016), punishment can have harmful consequences: it may model aggressive reactions and give rise to undesirable emotional responses in students. There is also the risk that heavy reliance on reinforcement could diminish a student's interest in learning by over-emphasizing external rewards, potentially affecting other students negatively as well.

A concrete example involves teachers who arrange for students to receive rewards at home — such as gifts or special activities — when they perform well at school. However, if a student has previously been severely punished at home for poor school performance, a home-based reinforcement program can produce the opposite of its intended effect. Reports of poor progress at school could trigger further harm at home (Woolfolk, 2016).

Another risk is that punishment does not, on its own, produce positive behavior. Severe punishment may only communicate to students that authority figures condone a certain kind of force, which can embolden retaliation rather than encourage compliance. Furthermore, students may display positive behavior only when the teacher is present, reverting to negative behavior as soon as supervision is removed. Punishment also tends to focus students on the consequences of their actions for themselves rather than prompting them to consider the impact of their behavior on others. As a result, these approaches may fail to cultivate empathy among students (Woolfolk, 2016).

A substantial broader criticism, articulated by Kohn (1993), is that behavioral management is fundamentally a method of controlling people. Within the classroom, it is characterized as doing things to students rather than working with them. The approach is also criticized as ineffective in the long term: when the initial rewards or praise stop, the positive behaviors typically cease as well.

References

Eisenberg, N., Guthrie, I. K., Fabes, R. A., Shepard, S., Losoya, S., et al. (1999). Prediction of elementary school children's externalizing problem behaviors from attentional and behavioral regulation and negative emotionality. Child Development.

Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by rewards. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Woolfolk, A. E. (2016). Educational psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.