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This week, I read a chapter in Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski's text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, and I found it to be very informative. The chapter discusses how teachers can use spreadsheets to teach students the connection between putting forth effort in their school work and seeing good academic results. The students rate various aspects of the effort put into the assignment, and then compare the amount of effort with their grade on a test or project. The concept seems very simple to me, but so many of my students need to understand the idea that effort equals results. This idea is a great example of behaviorism. The more they put into an assignment, the better the grade they will receive, which is the positive reinforcement. Hopefully, students will continue the pattern of putting effort into their school work and as a result, will continue to receive good grades.
Chapter 10 discussed many ideas for using technology to reinforce homework and practice skills. There are many web resources to utilize in the classroom. One great resource mentioned in our text is the Brain Pop videos. I use these in my science class a great deal. They are excellent resources to introduce new concepts. After the lecture, there are a series of questions pertaining to the video lecture. If the student enters in the correct answer, they "celebrate" the right answer. If they answer is wrong, they have to try again. This concept is another example of behaviorism used well in technology. The students want to get the answer correct because they are positively reinforced. Here is a link from Wikipedia explaining the Brain Pop movies a little further: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrainPOP
I believe that behaviorism is still very useful in the classroom today, although I do not believe it to be the only learning theory that should be used. However, students love technology where they can be positively reinforced and it promotes a supportive atmosphere in the classroom.
Resources
http://www.wikipedia.com
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
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I never knew they made Brain Pop videos! That is great! I had the Brain Pop flash cards when I was younger and I really liked those.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that behaviorism should not be the only theory used, but I think that it is the base line for all theories... what do you think?
Hello Learning As I Go,
ReplyDeleteI too was impressed with the idea of using spreadsheets to track effort in the classroom. My hesitation is how to give students the effort to use the spreadsheets to track their effort. Using technology would be a different approach to learning, but I have so many students that want the teacher to do everything for them and not do it themselves. The kicker is that these are high school students. I believe this activity could be effective if I can get everyone on board.
My students seem to be too old for Brain Pops. I have used them in the past, but my freshmen, sophomores and juniors, find them to be childish. I believe that they do get something out of them. I try to use other forms of technology to help them gain interest.
The behavior I find most challenging in my classes is that of attitude concerning education. So many of my students do not believe they need a high school diploma to be successful. They especially do not believe that Algebra is necessary. I know that many of my students will not go to college. How do I get them to see that high school graduation is important? How do I reinforce positive behavior when it comes to gaining that diploma?
I also liked the idea of using a spreadsheet to track student effort and grades. I think it would be a great way to show students that they get out of an assignment what they have put in. I teach fourth graders and I believe the spreadsheet is simple enough for them to be able to understand. I plan to use the spreadsheet in my classroom. My students however often struggle with why they have to go to school at all. I find this troubling because they are only in the fourth grade. I believe they have this view because most of their parents did not graduate from high school. I use positive reinforcement and rewards in my classroom, but I still have students that aren't motivated. Do you have any suggestions for helping these students understand that education is important?
ReplyDeleteI do understand the difficulty in motivating students to learn. Especially, if their parents did not graduate from high school, they may not see the point at all. Technology is a powerful tool to use the in classroom because I feel we can engage the students in the learning process. However, we can make learning as engaging as possible, and students do not see the point. We can offer rewards to motivate learning, but it is only an external motivation. Students need to find it from within themselves to desire achievement. How we can accomplish that is indeed a hard question to answer.
ReplyDeleteHi Kara,
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that Brain Pop had online videos. What a great resource. I have used the flash cards that Leah spoke of in her comment in my own classroom.
I agree with you that students love technology where they can be positively reinforced. I also think that with a lot of the computer based games out there, that if a student gets an answer wrong, they are able to correct themselves without the rest of the class knowing. I think this can be great for some of the more reserved students. Do your students use earphones when using brain pop? Or can all of the students hear the celebration sound when a question is correct?
-Robin Stimpson