Behaviorism is a truly  integral, fascinating and, as a student, frustrating component of learning.  My exploration of behaviorism, as learning and instructional design theories, started simply enough, some readings and reviews for my graduate studies, but that was where "simple" ended for me.  The terminology and definitions associated with the psychological study of behaviorism can be quite confusing and become very difficult to comprehend when combined with the ideas of learning and instructional design.  Considering these challenges, by using the very theories of behaviorism, one can come to understand and appreciate them.  The work of theorists like Edward Thorndike, Ivan Pavlov, and B.F. Skinner formed the foundation for countless learning and instructional design practices used throughout the world today.  To take the actions of a cat trapped in a box or a hungry dog or mouse and investigate, experiment, and expound upon them until an entire way of human learning is achieved is truly remarkable.  The principles of shaping a learning process, across time, and chaining learning objectives together to reach a desired learning outcome are used quite often in modern learning environments.  When one studies how a little league coach teaches his players to hit a baseball, the methodology behind popular language learning software, and the way instruction is designed from preschool through university-level terminal degree programs, behavioral learning principles can be discovered at every turn.  Feel free to click on the links below to explore my work, focused on behaviorism, and its impacts on learning and instructional design.

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*Note - There are three grey link icons located next to the headings of each instructional design theory on the Instructional Design Infographic.  These links will take you to external resources to improve understanding on the associated design theory.