Behaviorist learning is still very active in the classroom today. Technology has restrengthened this teaching strategy. The two teaching strategies that I feel strongly correlates with behaviorist learning are "reinforcing effort" and "homework and practice".
Effort is something we want all students to display. As mentioned in the reading, Using technology with classroom instruction that works, effort is something that as teachers we need to stress as important. I believe that a discussions needs to take place within the classroom about what positive effort looks like. The reading discussed using an effort rubric (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Working with first graders I do not feel that this approach would be age appropriate but I do something to reinforce effort daily. Every student at our school has what is called a cub card. The cub card monitors behavior and effort. Each day students who use great effort are rewarded with a smiley face and students who need improvement get a comment. At the end of the week the students get an effort grade of E (Excellent), S (Satisfactory), N (Needs Improvement), and U (Unsatisfactory). Throughout the year I constantly bring attention to what positive effort looks like. Orey discussed that positive reinforcement is much more powerful and long-lasting than negative (2007).
The other teaching strategy that was discussed in the reading is "homework & practice". I feel that this also relates to behaviorism. Orey discussed in his video clip that using technology as a tutorial can be highly useful. Homework and practice is a chance to revisit discussed topics for deeper levels of understanding. The wonderful thing about today's technology is that we are able to provide what could be looked upon as boring and redundant, something that is highly interactive and fun. I am attaching a link to a tutorial and enrichment program that we use at my school. I found this program to be highly effective and helpful to reinforce what is going on in the classroom: http://www.pearsondigital.com/sm21century/ .
Behaviorist learning strategies are still thriving in the classroom. The way a teacher goes about applying those strategies will will determine the positive or negative nature of the strategies. I believe they can be useful and enriching to students.
References:
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post it brought me back to primary school. When I was young, many many years ago, the same behaviorist strategy was used on us. The only diference was that we did not have smily faces. We had stars and the first one to get the row full of stars was awarded the prize. As I recall this strategy really seemed to work for us at the time. This strategy does works for the little ones.
Maria
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI commented on effort in my blog as well. In my high school we do not have anything like your cub card. I think most teachers apply effort to the class participation grade. I actually make it part of each project grade in my art classes. I provide a rubric for each project. There are several columns on the rubric such as: technical skill, creativity, craftsmanship, and always is a column for effort.
Amanda you mentioned that homework can be made more fun now because of tutorials. I couldn't agree more with you. The fact that there is so much more to offer technology wise to enhance learning blows me away. I now believe that not only can students actually enjoy homework through these drill and practice programs, but also really learn from them. Another very important aspect is the fact that most of these drill and practice programs give immediate feedback of how they did. That in itself is rewarding an powerful for students while learning.
ReplyDeleteMaria and Trish,
ReplyDeleteStudents really feel rewarded when you notice their efforts. As Tish commented, it needs to be a focus at all ages. For my students a smiley face is what they want to see and for older students a rubric is more appropriate. The focus is to reward your students with acknowledgment!