According to Standridge, “Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measureable aspects of human behavior” (Orey, 2001). Behaviorists such as Watson and Skinner believed that “human behavior resulted from specific stimuli that elicited certain responses” (Orey, 2001). This theory shows up in classrooms consistently, especially when it comes to classroom management. When educators see a positive behavior from a student, the behavior is rewarded; whereas when a student shows negative behaviors, they are punished with a consequence. Just as behaviorism shows up in management strategies, it can also show in classroom instructional strategies as well.
One example of an instructional strategy that rewards positive behavior is, reinforcing effort. Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski explain, “The instructional strategy of reinforcing effort enhances students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (2008, p. 154). By having students track their own successes, students learn how effort is rewarded with better scores and grades. As an educator I feel that it is incredibly important for students to not only understand effort, but to also track their own progress and self-monitor their participation in homework and practice.
It is important to have students track their effort in homework and practice because, it “give[s] students a chance to review and apply what they have learned” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhm, & Malenoski, 2008, p. 187). Giving students practice to help deepen their understanding, is equally as important as providing immediate and helpful feedback. Students need to understand right from wrong so that they can learn the specific behavior and skills required to succeed. If students do not receive feedback, they will never know whether or not they are doing things correctly.
Both of these instructional strategies can be improved with the help of technology. In order to track student effort, educators can use rubrics, Microsoft Excel spreadsheets or Survey Monkey. The effort can be tracked based on the student’s homework and practice. In order for feedback to be immediate, teachers can use online educational games and other websites as homework and practice. Students can learn what they are doing right and wrong immediately so that they do not go through the entire practice learning something wrong. The student's behavior can be observable and measureable, just as the behaviorist model suggests.
References
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from htt://projects.coe.uga.edu/epitt/index.php?title=Main_Page on Nov. 11, 2009.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI too feel it is very important for students to make the connection between effort and grades. So many times educators hear, "You gave me a D," and we know this is such an incorrect statement. By using Excel to have students track how long they study versus the grade they made is a powerful way for them to see that what you put in affects what you get out.
I also like using educational software where the feedback is immediate for the students. Unfortunately, I get way behind on grading papers sometimes so students are not always immediately informed of their progress. By using a computer based game or tutorial that provides immediate feedback, the student gets a much better idea of where they stand. I especially like ones that have some type of report I can print so I can also find out exactly what the student does or does not understand.
Educational technology is here to stay, so we might as well make the best use of it.
Jennifer
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of using technology to help students understand and see the relationship between effort and achievement. Students are responsible for tracking their effort and if they put forth more effort, they will see higher achievement.
When students are able to use educational software, like Jennifer said, it provides the students with immediate feedback. This helps them work on areas of weakness as well as their areas of strength. With all of the educational tools out there we need to start using them. This will play a major role in helping students be successful.
You make a good point that technology can help to provide immediate feedback whereas handing in an assignment and waiting for it to be corrected by the teacher can take several days. Even if the teacher can return the work the next day, the feedback may still be too late. When a student is learning to solve math problems, for example, he may use the same incorrect method for all 30 practice problems. Even if the teacher corrects the work and returns it promptly, the incorrect method was still reinforced as the student completed all 30 problems. If the student was using an electronic program, he would have learned immediately that the answer was incorrect and adjusted his method immediately.
ReplyDelete