I believe that behaviorism has a vital
place in today’s classroom. It is essential to classroom management and
providing a safe environment for children. I also believe that reinforcing
effort, providing recognition, assigning homework, and providing practice can
work hand in hand with behaviorism; and each are an important piece in
teaching.
Reinforcing Effort
It is important to remember that effort
and achievement have a close relationship and the more we expose students to
this relationship, the more they will realize the effects of effort (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012).
The behaviorist theory consists of reinforcement and punishment. Reinforcement
is the more powerful of the two (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011). Students need consistent
reinforcement of effort to understand the power of effort (Pitler et al., 2012). To incorporate
technology into reinforcing effort you can use rubrics and spreadsheets to
track student effort, success, and failure.
Providing Recognition
Providing recognition in the classroom
is very important when it is task- or process-oriented; rather than person- or
ability-oriented (Pitler et al., 2012).
It is important to make recognition personalized, and I feel it can make all
the difference for some students. You can also provide recognition by giving
certificates or sending e-mails. If you have a class blog, that would be a
great place to share exemplary work.
Check out this website/book excerpt about reinforcing effort
and providing recognition at http://www.paec.org/itrk3/files/pdfs/whatworksreinforce.pdf.
Assigning Homework
and Providing Practice
Assigning homework and practice for
students outside of the classroom can provide extra opportunities for students
to apply their newly learned skills and knowledge. It is important for students
to have frequent practice in varied contexts (Smith, 1999). It is important to assign homework that supports
what is being taught and learned in the classroom and provide feedback (Pitler et al., 2012). Homework and
practice can be assigned using technology. Utilizing technology can make
homework engaging and interactive. Sites like XtraMath (https://xtramath.org/)
and Starfall (http://www.starfall.com/) can be useful
for elementary students.
The following link is a brochure from the American
Federation of Teachers regarding assigning effective homework; it is a helpful
resource:
Overall, I think behaviorism and the
above strategies are a necessary tool in the classroom. The strategies can be
motivating for students and help them succeed. Using these strategies combined
with aspects of behaviorism, you can create a culture of consistency in the
classroom.
References
Laureate Education, Inc.
(Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and
technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R.,
& Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that
works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Smith, K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to
learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://infed.org/mobi/the-behaviourist-orientation-to-learning/
Thanks for the link to the AFT assignment homework brochure. I really like the usable advice for teachers. I even printed it.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, I am so glad that others have found it useful as well.
DeleteHi Tori,
ReplyDeleteI really liked the information you shared about reinforcing effort. All of the technology tools and applications are valuable to teachers, especially middle and upper level teachers. I have found that as students get older, that motivation level (whether it be for intrinsic or extrinsic means) dissipates. I see enthusiastic 6th graders enter the middle school who put forth their best effort on everything. By the time they get to 8th grade, I see some of those same kids put forth a positive effort occasionally, but only when it is something of interest to them.
So, as a middle school teacher, I find that it is important to show the connection between effort and achievement. I like the suggestion that was provided in our textbook, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, of having students chart their academic progress and information based on their effort rubrics in to an Excel Spreadsheet. By entering data over time, students will be able to graph their information and hopefully show a correlation between effort and achievement. I think this is an effective strategy for all teachers, but especially teachers of older students who struggle to see how important effort can be.
Thanks,
Mandy
Mandy,
DeleteIt is important for students to be motivated at all ages, I agree. I am glad that you see middle school students carry out these habits of effort.
Tori
Tori,
ReplyDeleteThank you for inspiring me on your blog today! I can see in your post what I would like my own blog to be like - informative and interactive. Your post was interesting because you not only organized your own thoughts clearly but also provided us with so much further knowledge to explore. I enjoyed clicking on the links to look closer in topics that I was relating to! This also made learning interactive and gave each of us something to "hook onto."
I appreciated your note about having older children graph their results. This helps even my elementary students also with their own personal motivation and students can visually see their data results.
One way to help motivate my students recently has been to use technology. Would this work for your older students as well to help motivate them? I reward students when they give effort in the classroom by allowing them to use our ipads to create movies, presentations, and other things to share with the class. I usually prefer the material to relate to class, however, will often let them pursue any topic of interest to them. I try to encourage them to choose science, technology, and engineering topics but ultimately the choice is theirs! The students love this reward as is usually gives them ownership of their learning but also an ability to showcase their work in front of their peers.
Throughout the week I have a specific group of students on LexiaCore 5 Reading. It is leveled according to student ability and each student can work at their own pace. I work with, watch, and support these two students as they work through the program. If they stay on task and work hard during the week, I allow them free time on the iPads on Fridays. They work very hard for this and have been passing levels like crazy!
DeleteTori
I often worry about the motivation level of my juniors and seniors. I find that they are concerned with completing the minimal requirement to meet graduation standards. I also find that administration is mostly concerned with standardized testing scores. As a teacher stuck in the middle, I would like to learn more ways to motivate and positively reinforces successful behaviors in older students. Many sources that I have researched are geared towards elementary/middle school aged students.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know / have experience with technology that is geared to positively reinforce upper level students?
I have not heard of anything, but if I do I will let you know.
ReplyDelete