BEHAVIORISM AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

B.F. Skinner, likely behaviorism’s most recognized academic, is most commonly known for his work in operant conditioning – that is, behavior can be changed based on the type of reinforcement: behaviors that are rewarded are repeated and those that are punished are not. Simple, right? Touch a hot stove and get burned; help out around the house and receive an allowance – to behaviorists like Skinner, learning is based on observable behaviors and largely disregards internal (that is, unobservable) events such as one’s thoughts and emotions. At its most fundamental level, there is little difference in how people or animals learn; it’s all about the rewards and consequences; however, Skinner’s theories on behavioral selection (think Darwinism for behaviors) provides far more nuance to the conversation that is often missed in the broader discussion. People (and animals) are constantly interacting with the world around them and are thus in a constant state of learning through the consequences of essentially any action (Henriques, 2016).

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When applied to the practice of instructional design, one begins to notice (for better or worse) how each design decision, however small, plays into the conditioning of the learner. Design begins by analyzing the situation, breaking down individual tasks, establishing learning objectives, and setting goals (Mergel, 1998). In this model, designers must have a strong sense of what content is essential to the overall goals of the learning experience and then connect that content to an appropriate assessment, as only the content that is assessed is ‘learned.’ In the behaviorist model, learners are conditioned to respond to a stimulus based on the reward system established by the designer; though, one critique of this model disregards any out of the box thinking. While learners may be taught how to respond in a given situation, that does not mean that they can apply that learning in a different one.

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That is not to say, however, that there is not a time and place for behaviorism in instructional decisions. In a recent design request from a partner, the company’s human resources department was struggling to teach their employees how to use a new HR portal. There was an influx of helpdesk tickets, confusion in how to submit hours and time-off requests, and a number of other issues that cased a great deal of frustration and misunderstanding across the organization. The company had a very simple goal: get everyone to use their new HR portal. For designers, there are any number of ways to address this; however, given the need, a simulation-based training was determined as the most suitable approach to provide a hands-on solution.

Using Adobe Captivate’s built-in simulation creator, a training was designed that would walk employees through the basics of the new portal to help them gain familiarity with the system. It began with a few brief slides explaining the purpose of the new portal and its primary uses, and then got right into action. The simulation began with a voice-over explanation as learners watched a video of the instructor using the portal and, after the walkthrough, were asked to follow along with the same prompts. They would need to navigate through the portal using the correct buttons and menus, and were prompted along the way if they made an error. Through a series of just-in-time simulations ranging from the basics of logging in to the more advanced reporting features, learners were conditioned to successfully use the new HR portal through a fairly simple reward system. If they clicked on the correct menu, the course progressed. If not, a dialogue box appeared redirecting them to the correct selection. Once complete, the company noticed an 80% increase in the use of the HR portal and a reduction of helpdesk tickets related to using the system.

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References:

Henriques, G. (2016). Skinner’s fundamental insight and fundamental error. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/theory-knowledge/201609/skinners-fundamental-insight-and-fundamental-error

Mergel, B. (1998). Instructional Design & Learning Theory. University of Saskatchewan. Retrieved from http://etad.usask.ca/802papers/mergel/brenda.htm#Learning Theories and the Pract