With this idea in mind, I will turn to the behaviorist strategy of reinforcing effort. If students are praised for effort on a regular basis they will often begin to increase their levels of contribution, seeking out that praise. However, this only works if genuine praise is given for genuine effort. “Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Sometimes it can be beneficial to track students’ effort with rubrics or graphs to help them identify where their effort has paid off. I use an online grade book called Zangle to chart these types of successes and make printouts to show students how their efforts affected assessment scores or other major benchmarks.
In connection with this idea, it is also fundamental to reinforce the proper completion of everyday practice problems. This is especially true in procedural studies such as mathematics or English, and students need to view these exercises as important. I am a firm believer that, “Mastering a skill or process requires a fair amount of focused practice,” and it is hard for the modern student to stay focused without prompt reinforcement (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Students that have grown up in a digital age are used to getting information quickly, and using technology to harness much of the daily reinforcements can be a monumental aid to teachers and student learning. This behaviorist strategy can be used through a variety of applications and online programs, and I have used numerous types including one this week in my geometry class using an interactive applet from Shodor (http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/Angles/).
These are only two of the many behaviorist strategies that could be used to benefit education. The key idea seems to be finding innovative ways to use technology as a reinforcement aid that leads to motivated participation. I for one will keep looking for these techniques and sharing them with my colleagues in an effort to positively shift modern education.
References
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
I appreciate your statement that reinforcement only works if it is genuine praise for genuine effort. Students are the first to realize if a teacher is not genuine in his/her praise and will inevitably call him/her out on it! When a student is praised for a job well done, and they are proud of their success that praise will be a huge motivator as they continue through the day. Some students have a lack of self esteem or just know they are not putting forth the required effort and refuse to accept positive reinforcement from a teacher. The question is, how do you positively reinforce and motivate the student who is dead set against recieving it?
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth. Well, I am not sure a single teacher can swing or motivate someone to who is unwilling to try. One key is to understand that we are not alone. Parental involvement is vital in the learning successes of any child. I have always believed that students will usually try to get away with as much as you will let them, myself included. I was rebellious for years, but eventually, as I matured, I began to see the importance of knowledge and wanted to learn. I have always told students that it is better late than never to care about your future, no matter what you have achieved in the past.
ReplyDeleteAs far as genuine reinforcement, I have always found that too much praise is a bad thing. Most teachers disagree with me on this, but I feel that telling a student they did a great job when they really just did an ok job is like lying. So I try hard to carefully word my reinforcements so that students see when I'm truly impressed with their work. I guess that I think of praise and positive reinforcement as two different things, and positive reinforcements simply need action-specific feedback.
I think what you said about genuine reinforcement is so important. I am all for giving kids the praise when deserved, but I too word it carefully. I make sure I give appropriate feedback for what they have accomplished. They can tell when I'm being sincere and I know they appreciate that. They would rather have that than having me jump up and down and doing cartwheels everytime they got an answer half correct. Very well put!
ReplyDeleteAnd I liked your website link (I definitely tried it out!) and was wondering how you monitor what they are doing there and if there is something they have to turn in or is it just observation? I think monitoring would be tough, but the only way for it to really be effective.
And happy Pi Day to a fellow mathlete! :)