R2 (Chpts 8-9)

            After reading this week’s chapters in William James’ book, Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals, I became fascinated by the ideas on the topic of association and habits, and how the two are related. While reading, the following question came to mind: How can teachers facilitate the association that students make when each will be so individualized? As I read further, the following quote captured my attention, “…in working associations into your pupils’ minds, you must not rely on single cues, but multiply the cues as much as possible…couple the desired reaction with numerous constellations of antecedents…” (William James, 1962, p. 44). The quote sums up the answer to the question in that the goal of a teacher is to teach by using a variety of methods which will spark learning in many students. One method of teaching will mean nothing for one student, but could evoke interest and association in another student.

            Looking back on previous courses that I have completed from kindergarten to college, the learned information that has stuck in my mind has been from teachers that have had multidimensional teaching methods. I learned more once information was presented in more than one ways, rather than in the same approach. As a result of the various teaching methods, I am able to make associations from previously learned information and use it to apply to current situations, which is indicative of how William James describes the utility of association.

            William James also indicated that we may not be able to predict future thoughts, but we can take thoughts and trace them to a starting point from which associations were made (James, 1962, p. 43). I am currently taking a course on managing behaviors, in which I am learning how to determine the function of students’ behaviors. The key in performing a functional behavioral assessment is that I must look at the targeted behavior, think about the antecedent that prompted the behavior, and note the consequence that followed. Taking a student’s behavior and tracing it back to the starting point (in this case, the antecedent) will allow me to understand the student’s function of behavior. As a school psychologist, I will never be able to predict a student’s behavior, but I will be able to retrace the steps and determine the function (what is sustaining the behavior), and can then reshape the behavior by changing the antecedent or consequence. So, not only is William James’ material applicable to teachers, but it can be used in various settings.