The first instructional strategy mentioned in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works is "Reinforcing Effort." This strategy correlates with the principals of behaviorist learning theory because it uses collected data to motivate students to work harder. The behaviorist theory focuses on rewards and punishments and different forms of motivation to help the students want to succeed and learn. In the book, they mention creating a spreadsheet based on effort so that the students can visually see their effort and understand how to improve their performance. In my gymnasium, I use educational technology through the use of pedometers to help motivate my students to be more active and teach them that each step is important for their health and activity time. For my older students, I have them set goals and reward them for achieving a certain number of steps, which demonstrates how I implement the behaviorist theory into Physical Education.
The second instructional strategy mentioned is "Homework and Practice." This strategy correlates with the principals of behaviorist learning theory because it allows students the opportunity to find success and reward from consistent practice and exposure to the material. The book mentions numerous educational technology techniques that can be incorporated to this strategy. For example, word processing, spreadsheets, and web resources that offer tutorials to help the students review the material they learned at school. If they students are getting rewarded by succeeding in their homework assignments, it is likely that they will want to continue this experience with enjoyment. I rarely give homework to my students, but do play games with the students that focus on practicing the movements and activities so that they can find success with each skill. I am constantly reinforcing the cues in class to help the students find success and praising them when they succeed. Practice is an important component in Physical Education that I use daily.
Moodle
14 years ago
Dr. Orey states that Behaviorism is the "redheaded step child in the classroom"(Laureate, 2009), however, I think we would all agree that it is alive and well in our classrooms today. Rewarding positive outcomes is a standard that will never leave the classroom because it works. You have seen how it is effective in a PE environment and I have seen students who do not care so much about a grade as they do about positive peer comments and appreciation (which is huge reward for teens) when creating video projects.
ReplyDeleteThe second instructional strategy of "homework and practice" can also be applied to the classroom. I make homework optional in my class and it is not collected as a grade. Students in my room keep data graphs of test scores and classroom assignments. This graph shows them the progress that they have made from one week to another. This is great because it allows the to actually see how well they are doing and it keeps them motivated to beat their previous score. The goal of scoring better than the week before is reward enough for my third grades. This strategy keeps them motivated and encouraged to continue to work hard.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a lot of us use many of the strategies that go along with the behaviorist theories. How and when we implement them differs and more often than not we may not even realize we are using them.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering do the students ever get embarrassed to post their scores on a graph so that everyone can see them? However, I can see how this idea is a great way to visualize their achievements and help them to set goals.
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ReplyDeleteCaray,
ReplyDeleteThe graphs are not something for the whole class to view. Each child has their own data binder with graphs from each subject area in it. Once we are done working with them I keep them in a cupboard. If a student wants to look at their own they may do so at anytime, but they can not look at someone else because I must hand them out. Doing it this way keeps their scores private and keeps the students from being embarrassed.
I do have graphs for the whole class though. These are posted in the front of the room and it displays the percentage of students in the class who receive an 80% or higher on activities. We have discussed how we would like 100% of our class to score 80% or higher on the test and the graph will show us how we are doing. By doing a whole class grade the students are able to see how the are doing as a whole, without singling anyone out.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteI think that is a great idea to keep the scores private, but on graphs that the students can view at their convenience. I also like your idea of posting group scores that help the students work together as a team to improve their results. Your classroom seems like an enjoyable environment to learn in.