Behaviorism in Practice

“Reinforcing Effort” and “Homework and Practice”

Reinforcing effort basic on academics is an excellent way for students to take responsibility for their learning. Effort put in directly related to the grades student earns. Last year to make students take responsibility for their learning I created a learning contract. The learning contract had all the standards that will be cover for the 9 weeks. I created several of goals with rewards. The goals that the students select he or she must mastery the goal to earn the reward. If a student exceeds their goal and reaches the next goal they would receive both rewards. The students had to complete plan of how they plan to reach their goal. This assignment worked well, but the students were mostly concerned about getting the rewards for mastering the set of standards. In this week reading, I like the effort rubric. The student’s grade themselves weekly on the amount of effort they put into learning, at the end of the week they take a test/quiz. The student then compares the amount of effort put into learning to the grade they received on their test/quiz.

Homework is a good way for students to practice a concept. I do not give homework until my students have a clear understanding of the concept. I do not want the students to get use to doing their work incorrectly. Once, students have a clear understanding I provide several opportunities for students to practice. I have students work in collaborative pairs, play online games related to the content, complete activities on programs purchase by the school for remediation. I currently use the following web resources that are found in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works: BBC Skillwise, Brainpop, Iknowthat, and schools. I also used the interactive lesson that Pearson Hall provides with the textbook.

Technology use in the classroom can be an excellent resource in the classroom. Like all things, there are some negative effects. My school uses a reading program called Reading Plus the school required that students complete a certain amounts of hours before the school year was over. Teachers were concerned about making sure the students got the required hours, so they wouldn’t get in trouble then think about the students. Students would work on the reading program an hour straight for 5 days. The students quickly began bored and didn’t put much effort into the program which made it ineffective. I tell my students if you give 100% for 45 minutes the last 15 minutes was their time. This made student work because they wanted the free time. I also made a tremendous deal when students master a grade level. I would announce it to the class the student received a certificate and a free ice cream pass.  Students like adults want to be praise when we do something well; it makes us want to work even harder. I implement several rewards program throughout the year to keep students motivate. My students made great gains. My school has several programs available from remediation. I use the programs as assessments. Once I feel a student has had enough direct instruction I allow them to work on the program, so I can determine if they master the concept.

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD