This week I read about some instructional strategies. One of the strategies that I read about is reinforcing student’s effort. The concept is that if you show your students that their academic achievements are based on how much effort and work they put into school, they will start to put forth more effort. This strategy can be easily supported with technology such as Microsoft Excel. Using this strategy to have students chart and graph their own effort and achievement can certainly be eye opening for some students.
This strategy fits in with the behaviorist theory of teaching. It is a type of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is presenting a stimulus that improves the likelihood for a response (Orey, 2001). The stimulus in this strategy is getting better grades. When students can physically see that their effort increases their achievement they are more likely to continue trying hard. “Students work for things that bring them positive feelings, and for approval from people they admire. They change behaviors to satisfy the desires they have learned to value” (Orey, 2001).
This strategy is also a type of behavior modification. Behavior modification can be achieved by finding and using a suitable reinforcer- in this case an intrinsic one, and then reinforcing certain behaviors until students start to become successful with that behavior (Orey, 2001).
A second strategy I explored this week is homework and practice. “As an extension of the classroom, homework provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.187). Homework reinforces the materials covered in class.
A great way to tie practice with technology is through the use of websites that employ programmed instruction. “Online educational games have an inherent appeal and generate immediate feedback that allows a student, parent, and teacher to monitor progress toward mastery” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.195). My favorite programmed instruction site is starfall.com. I use it all the time in my class. It uses reinforcement to teach letters and letter sounds, and to teach beginning reading. My students love to read and do the games on that website, and I believe it is through the practice we do whole class on starfall that my students have reached their current level of mastery so quickly.
Reference:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
Amber,
ReplyDeleteI struggle with a few issues in my class. One being my students are apathetic and would not care what their effort statistics would say, and I have a high percentage of parents who allow their children not to do any homework.
I was fascinated reading the ways in which students could collect data on themselves to show thier progress based on effort. I also appreciated the research on how homework is necessary for learning to occur. I believe most teachers would agree that there are not enough hours in a school day for students to do all they need to do in school. It is too bad that so many parents of students in my class do not believe in homework, so they do not require their children to do any school work at home. I wish this kind of research would change thier way of thinking.
Research is one thing, convincing parents is quite another.
Rusty, I understand what you are saying. I teach in a district where students go home and all thoughts of school and academics are typically forgotten. I have stressed to parents the importance of reading and working with their children at home and I have actually been told that all of that is my job, not theirs.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I realized in regards to homework is that many parents in my district feel as though they cannot help their children because they are uneducated. This lead me to change my approach to homework this year. Instead of sending home papers I send home concept backpacks. Students take home a back pack on Monday and return it on Friday. Each backpack contains an activity for parents to do with their children (along with detailed instructions) in areas their child is struggling in.
My students seem to really like taking home the backpacks and homework participation as well as academics have increased. However, this system is far from perfect. There are still children who do not do the backpack activites at home, and backpacks have been returned to me with missing pieces. For the most part though, I would say the project has been a success.
Amber,
ReplyDeleteI use starfall.com and find it very useful. Have you ever used www.uptoten.com before? I recommend that one, too.
Elif