Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works: "Reinforcing Effort" and "Homework and Practice"

Behaviorism
When discussing behaviorism I immediately think of students, their behavior, and how they respond to various elements within my classroom. I am a firm believer that behavior can be controlled, but I will not bribe or beg. I build strong relationships, have high expectations, and model appropriate behavior. When building relationships I demonstrate and encourage honesty and trust. Students are given the freedom to make choices and understand the consequences when good choices are not made.
Reinforcing Effort
Again, building relationships and informing students of your expectations allows each student to better understand the endless possibilities when GREAT effort is given. Having students complete an Effort Rubric and tracking their assessments and daily work allows students to see the relationship between the two. I have also found that it is beneficial to show students my computer when entering grades. It is often an eye opening experience to see how quickly grades can drop and the large amount of time it takes for grades to exceed expectations. Honesty is usually the best policy!
Homework and Practice
As stated, "Homework provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills" (Piller, Hubbell, Kuhn &Malenoski, 2007, p. 187). Can this be done without assistance from a parent or teacher? Multiple exposure to information can deepen a students understanding, but as I remind my students- "Practice makes permanent!" Homework using technology must be practice for a skill that has somewhat been mastered and then feedback should be given immediately before students continue. Technology provides a wealth of resources for learning outside the classroom, but they must be used properly and to streghten skills that are already part of a child's knowledge base.

6 comments:

  1. Suzie,
    I wholeheartedly agree with you about building relationships in the classroom. My philosophy is identical to yours - build strong relationships, have high expectations and model what you expect from the students. I love the idea of showing the students how you enter grades and how one poor grade can drop their average. What is also interesting is to show them that it takes many more good grades than one to bring it up! I can't wait to read more of your "philosophies". I think I might have found my twin!

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  2. I too, try to build strong relationships in my classroom. In the woodshop, safety is our main concern, and the trust that is involved is a major part of how the classroom will operate. My students are starting to realize that if they do not put much effort into their projects, then their projects are not going to look like the ones that have a lot of effort in them. The students slowly see that they really don't want to take home a project that looks awful and does not work. They want to make something that they are proud to show off to their friends and family.

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  3. Suzie,
    I think all sucessful teachers have what you described as strong relationship with your students regarding behavior. Most students understand what is appropriate classroom behavior and what is not. They understand that you are just doing your job for their benefit and everyone else in the class. However, every year I have some students who don't or won't get that idea and tend to take everything personal. They what to do what they want to do rather than what is best for everyone concerned. That is when the behaviorism response of negative and positive stimuli takes over.
    I do simular things with my gradebook as well. Even though I do a demonstration of how zeros affect grades it is not until it is their own grade does it make sense and is real to students. Some times it helps, other times it doesn't.
    I have tried the homework issue as many ways as possible from none to every day. I have found homework to be essential to understanding, but it has to be the appropriate amount and type for it to be effective. I see a noticable difference in students who do and don't do homework. That is the whole idea.
    Charles Schmidt

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  4. Suzie,

    It's interesting to look at the idea of reinforcing effort from the point of view of an upper elementary teacher. Because you have a grade-based report card, I can see how useful it is to show the students their grades and averages as you enter them into the computer. How do you think I can show my students the importance of effort with my standards-based report card? I try to make sure my students understand the expectations and I'm constantly saying "the more you practice, the better you get." Is that enough for my young students? Or should I do more?

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  5. Suzie,
    I could not agree more with you! I really believe that building relationships and modeling good behavior is key here! I think that constantly reinforcing good choices is what we need to do in order to have student display positive behavior. I do believe that homework is a good thing, but the problem is that so many students do not have someone at home to sit down and really encourage them to get it done, some have home lives that won't even allow for homework what so ever. That is the problem I have with get homework back and actually have students retain skills.

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  6. I am happy to hear that all of you agree with me on building strong relationships. I liked the statement made by Charles- “all successful teachers….”. I believe this to be true. The teachers I have encountered who seem to struggle with students who possess behavior issues are those teachers who do not take the time to stop and “smell the roses”. I understand that, as teachers, we are asked to teach enormous amounts of information, but we must stop (once in a while) and get to know our students. I believe that each child is unique and brings many things with them into our classrooms; the experience of growing up in different types of environments, different ways of responding to and learning from the world, and different dreams for the future. By forming relationships with each student, teachers show students that they care about each individual and respect their uniqueness. Providing activities that allow students to share life experiences provides learning experiences for everyone involved.

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