Behaviorism is a learning theory that entails the transmission of observable, learned behaviors through the use of positive and negative reinforcement in response to external stimuli. Though positive reinforcement, students learn to make connections to desired behaviors and through negative reinforcement, they learn to avoid undesired behaviors. Behaviorism applied to learning, especially in the sciences, can be beneficial when there is a clear right or wrong answer such as in math or computing [1]. Short feedback cycles that consist of a small task followed by frequent knowledge checks is an ideal application of behaviorism in this context [2].

When designing courses to introduce programming concepts to students with little or no programming experience, I find that short segments of information (usually 2 minutes or less) immediately followed by a knowledge check and a hands-on exercise produces the best outcomes. The frequent switch between lecture and coding allows students to continuously build a repository of working code that they can reference and reuse. We have also found that this approach not only allows the instructor and teaching assistant to get immediate feedback on how well students are understanding the material, but it also provides students frequent opportunities to learn by teaching fellow students. In this case, the approach can be a catalyst to apply additional learning theory.

However, similar to rats, and pigeons, humans can exhibit learned behavior absent understanding of what the behavior means or why it’s desired [3]. I believe Behaviorism on its own can limit true understanding of the content, in that students may be able to replicate code, but may not have a true understanding of alternate uses, constructs or the errors that result when it is not used correctly.

[1] Quevedo-Torrero, J. U. (2009, April). Learning theories in computer science education. In 2009 Sixth International Conference on Information Technology: New Generations (pp. 1634-1635). IEEE.

[2] Behaviorism. GSI Teaching Resource Center. (n.d.). https://gsi.berkeley.edu/gsi-guide-contents/learning-theory-research/behaviorism/.

[3] Skinner, B. F. (1950). Are theories of learning necessary?. Psychological Review (pp.193 – 216). Vol 57. Issue 4. 10.1037/h0054367