“Behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008). Desired behaviors are reinforced and undesired behaviors are punished. Two instructional strategies that incorporate technology while correlating to behaviorism are: Reinforcing Effort and Homework and Practice.
Reinforcement Effort:
Reinforcement effort is described as, “an instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievements by addressing their attitudes and beliefs of learning” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Not all students are able to see the correlation of their effort level and their grade on an assignment or test. Students often think they understand a concept or concepts that they are learning in class, but when it comes time to take the test they do not score well. Students quickly come to understand that the more effort and time spent reviewing will result in truly mastering the concept or concepts and overall their grades improving.
“Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). Teachers can easily create a spreadsheet for students to track their grades on. The teacher can easily email the spreadsheet to students to complete at home if their classroom does not have computer in it. This way students are up to date on their grades and can track their progress throughout the grading period. I use rubrics to grade all of my student’s projects and in-class activities. Rubrics are a great way for students to see and understand what they have to accomplish in order to earn their desired grade. Projects and in-class activities are quickly graded and handed back to students to provide them with feedback.
Homework and Practice:
In order for students to truly master a concept students must practice the skill or concept several times. “Homework and practice provide opportunities for students to deepen the understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). After students complete a homework assignment the teacher needs to provide immediate feedback. If teachers just check to see if the assignment is complete or not, then students do not get individual feedback on which parts of the assignment were incorrect and why. The use of technology when completing homework or practice problems can instantaneously provide the student feedback. Sciencespot.net provides activities that enrich the concepts we are currently learning in class. It provides students with alternate activities they could complete for extra practice with a concept they are having trouble grasping. The website also has a section just for science fun and games found in the kid zone. I use the game section with my students as a fun and engaging way for students to review concepts before the test. My students use Microsoft Office and PowerPoint to enhance their in-class activities and projects. These programs provide students with instant feedback on their writing level, spelling, and word choice. My school is currently working on increasing students writing levels across the curriculum in order to pass our state writing test. I believe students are more comfortable when they get to complete writing assignments on the computer rather than by paper and pencil. My students usually complete their rough drafts on paper and pencil and then edit and type their final drafts on the computer. This in return increases my student’s use of technology and improves their 21st century skills.
References:
Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever used an effort rubric or something similar in your classroom? If so, do you feel it created more motivation for the students once they made the effort and achievement connection?
I have never implemented an effort rubric in my classroom. I have several students in my classroom that put forth more effort than most and still struggle with the concepts. Growing up, I remember two types of students:
1. Catch onto concepts naturally without the need to study.
2. Needs to put forth great effort in order to grasp on to concepts. These students usually need remediation or repeated practice.
For the first type of student, this rubric would not increase effort
because chances are he or she does not need to put forth much effort to make the grade. The second type of student may stay up all night studying for a test and still not understand the concept as well as the first student. I feel as though this rubric would point out the differences between the two students and create a decrease in motivation and confidence for the second type of student.
Hi Sara
ReplyDeleteRubrics have really been effective in the learning experience as it provides a road map for the students as they carry out specific activities. i recognize that my students perform better when they are given a rubric prior to a performance assessment. It is a behaviourist principle that expectations should be clearly outlined to students (Smith, 1999). Rubrics usually allow students to know the behaviours that are acceptable and those that are not. In this case the grade from the rubric serves as the reinforcement tool. Students love to see good grades and therefore they will usually move towards altering their behaviour to ensure that they get good grades. The use of rubric in reinforcing effort is really behaviourist in nature. Technology has also made the creation and usage of these rubrics easier as a number of sites are available to help in creating rubrics.
Smith, K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm
Keri,
ReplyDeleteI have not used an effort rubric with my students. I do agree that it may encourage students to work harder and put forth their full effort. On the project my students just completed they were graded by two different rubrics. On both of the rubric their was a section on work ethic. This evolves their ability to work with their partners, stay of task, and not disrupt any other groups work. I do think students work harder and know exactly what they need to do when they are given a rubric at the beginning of the project.
Janice,
ReplyDeleteI do firmly believe that students work harder and know what is expected of them when they are given a rubric. Students are given a copy of the rubric when they are assigned the project. This way they have the rubric with them the entire time they are working on the project. Students know exactly what they have to do in order to earn the desired grade. After project grades are handed back students can easily read the rubric and the comments I made. Rubrics also prevent students from arguing about the grade they received and claiming they did not know they had to add a specific part, because it was right there on the rubric the entire time.
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI too believe that rubrics are a necessity in the classroom. When I first began my teaching career more than 8 years ago I really had a hard time getting quality work on many of my assignments. Over time I did get a lot better at constructing rubrics which really helped students to reach their potential. However even today, if I try a new project I am sometimes disappointed with the results. I believe that rubrics should consistently be a work in progress. As a teacher I need to see where my students are having difficulty and try to tweak the rubric to make sure they are reaching their objectives. Many times it requires me to look at the different types of learners in my room and make an educated guess at where they may have problems. Most of the time it works for me, but every once in a while I will get an assignment that follows the rubric but does not meet my expectations. For this I take responsibility and then make the necessary changes so I don't make the same mistake with other classes.