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Behaviorism in Practice
"The dog ate my homework," is an old excuse as to why students didn't complete their homework assignment. Is there a reason a to why students are using these excuses? "As an extension of the classroom, homework provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills," (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, pg. 187, 2007). Using technology to help complete homework assignments can help students deepen their understanding of the lessons taught in school.
Homework is essentially drill and practice work that allows students to practice what they have learned in the classroom earlier on in the day. The Behaviorist Theory supports drill and practice work, however, this type of work needs to grab the interest of the learner. One strategy to increase students effort and allow students to achieve success on homework assignments is to teach tools on the computer that can assist students. Microsoft Word is a great resource to conduct research on. Instead of always using a search engine that might lead you in the wrong direction, Microsoft Word allows student searches to be more direct (pg. 188).
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where a student insists they are "done" without putting much effort into the assignment? Applying effort into classroom work can be a difficult concept for students to understand. While on papers I always provide guidance and feedback, you can't always be sure that your recommendations are being followed. One strategy that can be used is to have the students chart their effort process on a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet. Students are provided with an effort rubric in which they assess how much effort they put into an assignment and then they input it into an Excel Spreadsheet. "By paying attention to the learning expectations on the rubric, they (students) see a relationship between effort and achievement," (pg. 160).
I believe that using instructional tools in the classroom helps in allowing students to achieve their own personal success which will then assist in diminishing negative behaviors. When students are provided with tools that help them do well and allow them to be active learners, then there is not need to use excuses for not doing homework assignments.
References:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
I love your effort rubric. I generally just do this for major assignment such as book reports or research projects, but I tend to find that some students do not put enough effort in their day to day work. I think it is a great idea to have the students track their effort using technology. This way it is up to them to control their effort and they can realize whether or not their effort has something to do with the outcome of their work.
ReplyDeleteI, too, believe that instructional tools are valuable for helping students to complete homework and practice new skills. If you find a program that interests them, they will be more apt to put in more effort. I love the idea of having students chart their effort in a spreadsheet in order to help them see the correlation between effort and success. I also agree that having the student take ownership of his success would help reduce negative behaviors.
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ReplyDeleteI think that instructional tools are important. I try rubrics, however they can be a lot of work for a teacher who has to provide feedback for over 100 students. I have tried them with my classroom wiki, and they can be time-consuming. Our students and parents make use of Progress Book, and can follow their progress on a daily basis. Most do not. So, yes tools can work but the effort and care must come from the students and their parents to be effective.
Motivating my students to give their best effort has long been one of my goals as a teacher. Until now, I have never thought to use an effort rubric and to track effort through spreadsheets. These instructional tools are the only way some kids can really see the relationship between effort and achievment. Your blog layout is really nice!
ReplyDeleteI think I will modify my behavior sheets for online spreadsheets; this will make self-reflection more private for students and encourage students to be more honest of their strengths and weaknesses. The visual connection between effort and mastering skills is an important tool.
ReplyDeleteUsing technology to show students the relationship between their effort and their achievement is so important. Furthermore using the practice of homework with technology is great! Using technology to communicate problems with homework is also a great idea. If homework is to be assigned, it should be commented upon(2007). What better way to do this than with technology.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment about homework needing to be interesting to the learner. In the past when I have given a homework assignment with numerous practice problems, I have experienced a high rate of incompletion. Since then, I have attempted to create assignments that are more application based. These assignments have a higher completion rate. When students are actively engaged and interested in their work it is much more likely that it will get finished. Homework needs to be relevant and practical.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I have to say I LOVE the picture! So appropriate!!
ReplyDeleteI always stress to my students how important homework is and I have been trying different things to get them to realize that more effort results in higher achievement. One thing I have done is to chart every student's homework grade for the unit and then their test grades. This has helped them to see that there is a positive correlation, although they don't individualize it. I may have to try having the students fill out their own rubric and that might make it more personal.
I found the effort rubric very helpful and interesting. So many times we tell our students to put forth effort without telling them what that really means. One person's version of giving effort varies from another. So this rubric allows everyone to be on the same page and allows the teacher to give a number that correllates to the amount of effort given.
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