“Homework and Practice” are crucial strategies for many students to engage in as a learner. “Homework provides opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 187). The more a child is exposed to the material, the better the child will retain the information for future reference. The child is also more likely to become proficient with a skill if they are constantly addressing it. As Dr. Wolfe had mentioned, students learn best when information is taught through various avenues, meeting the needs of the multiple intelligences (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Technology meets this requirement by providing a plethora of resources to reinforce concepts that can be accessed outside of the classroom setting. Students can easily practice and improve their skills in order to increase their level of understanding to mastery. Another benefit of using these technology resources such as online educational games is that “it has an inherent appeal and it generates immediate feedback that allows a student, parent, and teacher to monitor progress toward mastery” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 195). Parents will be aware of their child’s weaknesses and strengths, which in turn will allow parents to be an advocate of their child’s learning as well.
One of this week’s websites that struck me was called WebMATH. This website is child and adult friendly and explains various concepts of mathematics. A particular area that could be beneficial for my students as well as parents would be how to multiply and divide. Not only will this website assist you in multiplying numbers, but it will also provide a written explanation on how the problem is completed. This is a great resource for those students who are unsure of how to complete their homework or for those parents who are unsure of how to help their child. The only downfall that I see is the fact that they only show the traditional algorithm of multiplication. In today’s math, teachers are providing various strategies of multiplication such as the lattice method, partial products, and the open array method. These strategies are not demonstrated. However, in continuing with the technology trend, I could create a podcast that verbally explains these methods as well as provide a visual demonstration for parents and students to observe. This tutorial can enhance a child’s learning experience and encourage them to use technology as a helpful resource.
Another website that I found useful was the English Grammar 101. This a great way for students to practice the various concepts of grammar while receiving feedback immediately when self-checking. It gives a short little tutorial on the topic and then allows you to complete various questions or activities in regards to the skill. This particular website is connected to the operant conditioning of the behaviorist theory.
Reinforcing effort and illustrating the parallel between effort and success is very difficult for students to comprehend. That is why it is important for the students to learn this particular skill concretely and visually so that they can see that there effort impacts how they perform. “A powerful way to convince students that effort is truly tied to achievement is to show them data” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 161). My intentions are to use a simplified version of the rubric on p. 157 from our course text, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Math is a very challenging subject for my students and their tests tend to be lengthy and overwhelming. If the students realize that effort can lead to more success, their math scores will hopefully improve. Consequently, when students see an increase in their scores, the students will be more inclined to continue their current work ethic to ensure their scores remain high. This rubric will allow students to self reflect on their effort towards maintaining class notes, remaining attentive in class, participating in whole group as well as small group discussions, completing homework, and studying for upcoming tests and quizzes. This data will be collected every week. It will then be placed on an excel spreadsheet to be compared with their overall math assessment scores at the end of the unit. I do have some concerns about using this method. Since I teach 4th grade students, how can I ensure that my students will be completely honest when filling out their self reflection? Another pitfall with this process is if their effort does not correlate with their test results. For instance, a student may receive poor test results but they put forth much effort. I realize that using this strategy one time will not change all of the students’ thoughts about effort and achievement. However, how do I then convince the students that they are directly related? Does anyone have any other suggestions?
There are two websites that I was perusing. These websites provide insightful ideas of how to reinforce homework and practice. The “Education World” website below is geared toward ESL students, which provides online activities for review, reinforcement, and practice of skills taught in class. Since these students are not familiar with the English language, it is even more imperative that practice occurs. This will actually be beneficial for me since I just received a new student from India that does not speak any English. She is currently working with the ESL teacher, but I can use some of these ideas to reinforce skills. The second website is specifically geared towards teaching with technology. I especially like the Arcademic Skill Builders which allows students to practice concepts through interactive games.
Links –
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech074.shtml
http://www.4teachers.org/
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program two. Brain Research and Learning [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instructionthat Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Smith, M. K. (1999) 'The behaviourist orientation to learning', The Encyclopedia of Informal Education, www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm.
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Meghan,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to let you know that I really appreciated the ideas and perspectives you shared in this blog post. I have some questions and interesting technology ideas you might be able to utilize. I can't seem to compose my thoughts tonight so I will post to your blog tomorrow. I am curious though, do the majority of your students have access to computers and internet connections outside of school?
Thank you,
Courtney
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteYes, most of my students do have access to computers outside of school. However, I am not sure about internet connections. I am eager to hear your suggestions!
Thank you,
Meghan
Meghan--
ReplyDeleteDr. Wolfe’s ideas regarding exposing students to content information in multiple formats is one of the things that really caught my attention as well (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Looking back at the last semester, I have begun to realize that, although I spent a great deal of time teaching the content my students could not seem to grasp some of the ideas we were talking about.
For example, we spent weeks talking about America’s role in World War I in relationship to Germany, Great Britain, and France. We spoke about the issues with neutrality, power, money, land etc. When it was time to move forward in the curriculum I did a verbal assessment with the students and the classes looked at me like I was an idiot. I share this with you, because had I taken the time to have the classes do activities such as, breaking the class into the Allies and Germany and have small group discussions of how America will help the Allies and/or how Germany will fight against the Americans. Spending ten to fifteen minutes in small group discussion and perhaps the students would have had a better grasp on the information. Alas, even when I was trying to reexplain/review the information I did not try to have the students work with the content in different ways.
This semester, as we begin World War II, I have some ideas on how to use the computers in my classroom (two computers with internet access), small group discussion, and resources I have found on some interesting education web sites. Here is a link to one of them, you have to become a member, but it is free so if you do not like what you are looking for than you are not out anything: http://www.tes.co.uk/resourcehub.aspx. If I spend time talking about the content, the students spend time reading and working on the vocabulary, and then we have a simulation, small group to large group discussion, I am hoping the students will hook the information in to what we have learned during first semester. Do you think that working through the information in three to four different activities will, as Dr. Wolfe said, “cement” the pathways (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009)?
Part II:
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned homework. I had an interesting conversation with a few members of my class early on in our masters program regarding homework. My classmates were saying that homework was a necessity in education, giving homework to students teaches them responsibility, etc. When I responded saying that I did not give homework, they stated that I was doing the students an injustice and not teaching them accountability. I realize that homework is one way to help students better learn content material. I do not dispute the fact that homework has a positive correlation to achievement, but I have gone rounds with myself on whether to give homework. Using homework as positive reinforcement is a great way to get students to take initiative to better his/her understanding. The conundrum I face is, no matter how small assignment is, in the past, I have only had one-fourth of my students complete the work. Thus, I end up having to review the material and/or reteach the content to three-fourths the class and in turn making the other students listen to what they already know. Do you find yourself running into similar problems? I do agree with the idea generalizations made by McREL’s about homework, that it is important that the students know why they are being asked to complete this work at home (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, &Malenoski, 2007).
Perhaps if my students had access to computers with internet on a daily basis, I would be more inclined to assign homework where the students have to dig for information on the Library of Congress web site, or look into a topic in the decade we are studying. Not all of my students have computers, let alone, computers with internet. I really appreciate the fact that you explained how the WebMATH review technology, not only helps the students be successful, but also allows parents/guardians to take an active role in the learning process. You also helped me to see the positive points of assigning homework, besides what we have learned in our readings covering behaviorism. I know that there are similar resources for social studies, but the lack of the technology outside of the school day makes it really difficult for me to give homework that relies on the internet. You did give me an idea though, I could have the students that have the technology utilize it and give the other students alternative assignments in hard copy. Does this sound like a solution that would work? If you were presented with this problem how would you go about closing the technology gap?
Thank you for your perspectives and suggestions!
Courtney
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program two. Brain Research and Learning [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instructionthat Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your thoughts.
You first question: Do you think that working through the information in three to four different activities will, as Dr. Wolfe said, “cement” the pathways (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009)?
I absolutely think this would help. From personal experience, I have seen a great improvement in my children's success when I have incorporated a variety of activities. Would it be possible for the students to reenact parts of WWI? Perhaps they could create something on the computer that demonstrates parts of it. Of course you would have to use discretion, but students might understand the content a bit more if they put themselves "in the other person's shoes."
In regards to HW, I have been fortunate enough that most of my 4th graders complete their homework in a timely manner. Each year, I usually have 1 or 2 students who do not complete homework and unfortunately it is due to the lack of reinforcement or structure at home. Most of my 4th graders will not take the initiative to complete homework without their parents telling them to do so. As for the technology gap, providing a paper copy of the homework assignment is a great idea. I have actually done this in the past to accommodate those students who do not have internet access. This is part of the differentiation process. Even when it does not entail technology, I may give students a slightly different version of the homework assignment based on their understanding of the concept. I agree with the generalization provided by our course text, "Parental involvement in doing homework should be kept to a minimum" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007, p. 187). Homework is designed to determine if the student comprehended what they learned in class. I believe that they should really be able to do their homework independently at home.
Meghan
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instructionthat Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.