Behaviorism in Practice

“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.