Behaviorist Philosophy: Is It Be Useful To A Christian Educator?

Tony

Your questions are very thought provoking. I am wondering, did you have an answer in mind when you were developing them? Or how you would answer if you had been asked? For me, that is the strategy I used in my development, so I am curious how others came up with theirs.

Now, onto the critique:

1. Is this the reworded question? If so, I appreciate how it forces one to think beyond the mere idea of student-centered interest based teaching into the nitty-gritty of how the theory works when put to the test of the curriculum. Especially, since children’s interests can change from day-to-day.

2. I appreciate how you provide background for your questions as a way to guide your responder toward an answer, but I wonder if they can be shortened?

This question is very thought provoking toward deeper analysis! It appears to cause one to stop and think in developing the answer. How would you respond to this question yourself? I will take a gander at it myself. Even though Behaviorist belief that human nature is a result of our environment and not our free will, what parts of this educational theory could still be useful to a Christian educator?

I believe some parts can be ‘borrowed’ from the behaviorist belief, such as the use of positive reinforcement but not as the behaviorist intended. In discipline, the idea of reward the good behavior and choices is a form of positive reinforcement because it encourages students to do the right thing, most of the time, with repetition. Along with the reinforcement goes the idea of breaking up the subject matter into smaller parts so that children will experience the success of completion of the task. For example teaching a mini-lesson based on the content and as students complete the assignments or tasks built upon that topic with additional lessons. However, as Knight (2006) implies choosing parts of different theories should be done with caution when considering Christian education. Therefore, while these parts of behaviorism seem all well and good, it is important to ask if they reflect my Christian philosophy of education. If so will I be able to defend these principles to demonstrate my understanding of how they reflect and are supported by a Christian worldview? This approach will assist in guiding my educational philosophy soundly so that I may guard myself against moving toward philosophical and theoretical educational principles that do not support a Christian worldview such as