Hi All,
Well I have started my fifth class now as I continue down the road to earning my Master’s degree. This week our focus has been on instructional strategies, specifically ones that deal with technology, and how they correlate with the principles of the behaviorist learning theory. I have to admit, that when I started this class I was very skeptical as to how in the world technology was supposed to play any sort of role in how our students behave. However, we are only in our second week now and my eyes are beginning to open to the connections.
There were two different sets of resources that I had the chance to explore. The first was chapters of our course text titled “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works,” one dealing with reinforcing student effort, and the other dealing with homework and practice. The second type of resource was a large variety of websites that can be used for students both in the classroom and at home to help build on the skills that were learned during curricular lessons. The text resources provided a few ideas that I found to be quite interesting and I believe they would be extremely effective from upper elementary and up. They gave ideas that cause students to take some responsibility of their own learning by doing things like creating charts to show how effort impacts final learning and grades and tracking the grade level of their writing. So what does that have to do with behaviorism? Simply put; it has everything to do with behaviorism! As students make notations and chart the effort they put into their learning and then see how it compares to their grades, they most likely are able to see the more work and the better quality of the work they put in, the bigger the reward is, such as getting a good grade is.
As for the Internet resources that were suggested this week, they provide great activities that students can participate in on their own to gain extra reinforcement for curricular skills. Students are able to work at their own pace and receive immediate feedback for their responses. If a student answers a question correctly, they are greeted with either a spoken or written phrase of encouragement. When students answer a question incorrectly they are told that it was done wrong and they are given a chance to either do it again, or see what the actual correct answer is. After becoming familiar with this type of activity, students can begin to learn that the more they practice, the more correct responses they earn.
Now, one question that I did have when looking through these resources was, what about those students who put in a great deal of effort, but still continue to struggle and get low scores? Every year I have a couple students who try and try, but they still get lower grades. We need to make sure as teachers to not simply let the technology teach our students. Even though these resources are great and useful, students still need our feed back and encouragement. Then even when they do put in the necessary effort, but end up with a low grade, we can be there to recognize the great effort they put in and remind them that the effort will indeed pay off! Students will then get positive reinforcement even when they might not see it from their charts or computer program scores.
I have included the last of some of the websites that I have reviewed. Explore and use as you wish!
Magan
http://classroom.jc-schools.net/basic/math.html
http://www.phschool.com/curriculum_support/ss_skills_tutor/ http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/cjh/appliedtech/Business/Keyboarding/
http://www.webmath.com/k8drill.html
http://englishgrammar101.com/
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line.htm
www.iknowthat.com
http://www.brainpop.com
Magan,
ReplyDeleteYou made a very good point about students who try and still continue to struggle. I agree that we need to find some way to encourage these students even if their scores remain low. Normally there is something positive we can find to say about all of our students, even ones we may have trouble with. I also agree that we need to be careful not to let technology take our place when it comes to teaching. Using technology in the classroom as a resource is a wonderful idea, there are so many websites to assist students, but we must remember to also be there to guide them.
~Leilani
Magan,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point about the students who will still struggle even though they put in the effort. It does happen. I would say when this occurs, that it is our job a a teacher to relate to the student and let them know about some of our personal failures and how we are still proud that we gave our best effort. I always talk about how I worked extremely hard at sports in high school but I was just not good enough at anything to play in college. Life lessons are important too. Just let the student know that they can be proud of trying!
Tyler, I really like your suggestion about telling your students about your own personal trials that you have had along the way. It is a great way to remind students and show them first hand that the benefits of great effort are not always seen immediately, but their hard work will pay off in the long run.
ReplyDeleteMagan, I was thinking the same thing as you about the students who truly do put forth lots of effort and yet their grades go down. What do we do then? I know it would be the exception, not the norm, but it does happen. If we were to give some sort of incentive for effort, that could help, but then the students would realize they get rewarded for claiming to have high levels of effort, true or not. I wonder, though, if maybe we found something for these students related to learning styles if it would help their effort be more productive?
ReplyDeleteThe students that I have had that fit this category tended to have some unique way of learning, and they didn't realize it. We have all seen the student that studied for the test for hours, yet failed it because their mind went blank. In the past, I have spent some time helping these students figure out their learning styles, or if they are global or analytical, and helped them figure out more effective ways to study that are tailored to their own needs. It has been beneficial to them. They didn't always become straight A students, mind you, but many went from being D and F students to C students, which is still improvement. So many students have no idea what their learning style is, and it is such an eye-opener for them when they gain some insight into their learning!
Magan,
ReplyDeleteSince technology fosters self-correction and independent inquiry, I wonder if this could increase the confidence level of struggling students. As our readings suggest, success stories on the web reinforcing effort would be a good initiative for students who seem to believe they are not capable... At the risk of being redundant, I would like to add on to yours and Tyler's comment about life lessons and benefits in the long run. I think it is important to let students know that whatever small gains they make is monumental for whatever they learn in the future and that it is all a learning process.