I have recently read about two instructional strategies, "Reinforcing Effort" and "Homework and Practice," from the book Using Technology in Classroom Instruction that Works. Each of the strategies correlate very closely with the principles of behaviorist learning.
The first strategy I studied, "Reinforcing Effort," was all about using rubrics and spreadsheets to compare one's effort to his grades. The correlates with the behaviorism theory because when students see how their effort truly effects their grades, they will change their behavior and begin putting forth more effort to continue to receive the reward of a higher grade. I can see how this could be very helpful at getting students to become more self-motivated when it comes to paying attention in class, completing assignments, and studying outside of the classroom. This is a strategy that I may implement into my high school math classroom next year.
The second strategy that I studies, "Homework and Practice," was about different ways one can use homework and practice effectively. I felt that this strategy also correlated with the behaviorist theory. By having a homework policy in place, students are more likely to complete given assignments and therefore benefiting from the assignments. The grade for completing the homework is the reward. Also, by providing feedback on homework, students will see that the assignment is worth completing since they may actually learn something from it. This is behaviorism since students are working to receive feedback, which is the reward. I use homework very frequently in the classes that I teach. I have a policy in place that counts homework/classwork as a percentage of the student's final grade. I also check and go over homework at the beginning of the next class period so that students can find and correct mistakes that they are making.
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I think the point you make about homework is very important. Secondary education teacher have many students they see in a day, sometimes upwards of 150. To assign homework every night would be an outrageous amount of work for which to provide feedback. If a teacher likes to assign drill and practice in this manner, it can be overwhelming, and they resort to simply checking for completion, not actually checking the answers for a right or wrong answer. This just leads the students to complete the assignment for the sake of points rather than for the sake of learning the material. That said, teachers need to realize that they should only assign work that can be physically graded and turned back to students, so they can see their successes and failures and have the ability to change in the meantime.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this happen at the middle school level. do you see this often at the elementary level?
Sally,
ReplyDeleteI too find homework to be very useful to reinforce the concept. Like you, I also make it worth a large part of their final grade. In fact, homework combined is worth more than the tests combined.
Luckily I teach in a small school, so I do not feel that I am overwhelmed with grading. I also like how you pointed out that you should go over the assignments so that they can make corrections. For my accounting class, if they do not understand where they made the error on today's homework, it is nearly impossible to even complete tomorrow's homework since it all goes hand in hand.
A side note, I know quite a few teachers that assign homework and projects, but do not get around to grading it for some time. In my opinion, if a teacher does not grade the students work in a short period of time, that shows the student that the teacher does not value the work. If the teacher does not value the work, why should the student?
Bethanne,
ReplyDeleteLuckily I do not see 150 students a day. I see about 90, so it is more manageable. I do not currently check homework for accuracy, but if a student does not have actual work for the problem, they do not get credit. Since I teach math, most problems require some sort of work to go along with them. This has proven to be a good way to check work without spending too much time. Also, I do go over homework each day at the beginning of the class. If you don't go over it, then why did you assign it in the first place? WHat do you expect students to get out of it if they do not know where their mistakes were made??
Sally
Brett,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that it is very important to get things graded in a timely manner. Personally, I like to give assignments back on the next class day if at all possible. Students need feedback so that they will know where they are making mistakes and how to fix those mistakes...especially in a math class!
Sally