This week we read about behaviorist learning theory as it relates to reinforcing effort and homework and practice. In my district, effort and behavior represent more than half of the elementary report card. The first half of the report card assesses behaviors such as listens effectively, works in an organized manner, follows school rules, and completes work in a timely fashion. Each of these behaviors as well as each academic area are then graded for effort.
Teaching and reinforcing effort are highly important at the elementary level. I try to help students see the value of their effort through individual graphing of weekly assessments. Each week a student's score improves over the previous week, they earn a sticker on their graph.
I also try to shape student behavior through positive reinforcement. When I observe students demonstrating good thinking, use of strategies that have been taught, or even good communication skills with peers, then I reward them with "brain tickets" which are token slips of paper with a picture of a brain on them. Students write their names on the slips of paper and put them in a box for a drawing on Friday, and a chance to choose a pass for extra computer time, no homework, etc. I use this system to shape many different behaviors.
Homework is important for practicing skills. My current system is to check for completion each morning and if a student does the homework, he/she earns a stamp on the homework calendar kept in his/her binder. Each student that misses two or less homework assignments a month gets to participate in "game day," which means they get to each lunch with me in the classroom and play games during recess. Each day I try to correct the homework in the morning and pull students over one on one to discuss errors and make corrections because I think it is important to correct errors quickly and provide feedback. After lunch we have a math meeting and I usually address common problems from the homework at that time. While valuable, it is very time consuming to correct during prep or lunch and then pull students one on one, and this is particularly difficult when students don't put effort into the homework in the first place. I also provide optional challenge homework which I count as extra credit and everyone gets credit for solidly attempting the work.
I think assigning homework to be done on the computer at the elementary level has pros and cons. In a previous course, I interviewed my students about their use of technology and a very small percentage reported using the school website or its links at home. Many students used game systems but not necessarily the computer. The students would likely prefer to complete math practice and earn points or certificates as they go but I am not sure about the availability or comfort level with the parents. Certainly as my own children have gotten older, more and more of their homework has been computer driven. I think the advantage to homework through websites as suggested by Pitler, etal in chapter 10, is the immediate feedback and reinforcement given. On line tutorials are also very good for helping students learn new skills because most show how to do something step by step and the tutorial can be replayed as often as needed.
I am excited by the idea of using technology more for both reinforcing effort and for homework. I think the individual graphs that I currently use can be easily adapted to excel spreadsheets. By creating an effort rubric as suggested by Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (p.157), the students can be more reflective on the specific behaviors that lead to higher achievement.
Interestingly, I came across the April 19, 2010 issue of Time magazine today and the cover story was "Should Schools Bribe Kids?" A Harvard economist paid 18,000 kids a total of $6.3 million dollars for different things such as good test scores and not fighting with each other. The results differed but the basic conclusion was "if incentives are designed wisely, it appears, payments can indeed boost kids' performance as much or more than many other reforms you've heard about before--and for a fraction of the cost (Ripley, p.42)." It is a fascinating article that seems to relate to this week's discussion on behaviorism.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Ripley, A., (2010, April 19). Is cash the answer? Time, 41-47.
I also use a system at our school using a tickets. I find it works well when reinforcing positive behavior. Every student wants to get a ticket, so they try extra hard to behave well to receive one. The problem with the tickets i found that each teacher gives them out differently. There are some teachers that will hand plenty of tickets out. There is no universal system on how students get them. I like the fact that you explain to the students why they are not getting some correct. If you can fix the problem early than it would be much easier than later in the unit.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is great to learn concepts with games or programs that reinforce the concept that is to be learned.
I like the idea of brain tickets that are given out for cognition rather than behavior. The awards in my class focus on our attitudes rather than just behaviour and I have found the students consistently work better and are focused on their metacognition rather than behavior.
ReplyDeleteMany teachers like you have the same issue with homework and whilst we want to give the work back to the students in a timely manner, we also want to make sure that we are teaching the students when they are in our class. I'm afraid I don't have a solution for this either :-(. However this year I have used lots of different math sites to try and support my students coordinated through my website. This includes finding many different learning objects for them to use at home. What I found is that they consistently went back to our paid resource called Mathletics. I was also able to track this effectively compared to going on the students say so with the other resources which I couldn't track. I think this is an important consideration and if you have students that you need to keep accountable an important consideration when choosing supportive resources on the internet.
Not everyone in my building uses brain tickets. Our school wide recognition system is to give "gotchas" when students are caught doing something good or above and beyond. As a staff we are very inconsistent with this system, and I am especially poor about giving gotchas because I use other reinforcers throughout the day. Every year I make it a goal to use the gotcha system because the principal reads those awards over the intercom each morning and then randomly pulls one out per grade level at the monthly school wide assembly and presents those students with medals. It seems unfair to my students that they are never in the running for school wide recognition because I don't utilize that system.
ReplyDeleteCorrecting and fixing homework is an issue because I believe it is important to clear up misunderstandings before a new round of homework. It is amazing how quickly the wrong way of doing something can be solidified and therefore harder to fix. I like the idea of using softward that can be tracked or using resources where the student can print off a certificate or end product. If students can't print, perhaps the parents can sign off that their child completed the work.
You give great examples of how behaviorism is alive in your classroom. I too reward my students with activity time once a month if their homework is complete. I find, however, that students with low motivation to do homework do not always buy into the reward system and I must involve parents and design a contract for better homework habits. Standridge (2002) discusses how contracts are also a form of behaviorism because they can be effective in helping students change thier behavior.
ReplyDeleteThe article you mentioned about reinforcement through money is interesting. I know at my school the teachers have a "Big Loser" weight loss program that involves big bucks and it's interesting how that incentive helps some lose weight fast! My principal (before the big budget cuts) use to promise amusement park field trips to those with good grades, and our scores did go up a little. Currently, our freshman in our district recieve FREE laptops if their report card grades reflect good effort and excellent grades. The program is new, so I don't really know the impact of that incentive on performance.
Several people have commented on the use of "tickets" as a reward system. Some had a school-wide system and some had a system just in their classroom. My son's elementary school has a system of rewarding behavior with "Pirate Bucks" and tickets are drawn at assemblies for a chance to go to the treasure box. I wish at my high school there was a way to have some sort of universal reward system. Several years ago, I would reward students with a "guess ticket". Students would guess how much candy or whatever was in a jar. After several weeks, the student with the closest guess would receive the candy and I would change what was in the jar. This system worked for a period of time but then the students did not seem to care about earning a guess. It seems like whatever system a teacher has, it needs to change periodically to keep the students interest. Rewards are part of Behaviorism learning theory and are important part of many classroom management plans.
ReplyDeleteRegarding homework...I feel it is very important to give students immediate feedback on their homework. I grade my students homework at the beginning of each period. As students are working on a class starter / warm-up, I walk around the room and grade each individual students paper. This process takes about 10 - 15 minutes. It is valuable to me because I am able to make personal contact with each student. This time allows me to see if there are any common mistakes that students are making I need to address with the whole class before we move on to the next concept. This time also allows me to connect with students that are not doing their homework and find out why. Students have told me that they appreciate receiving immediate feedback. The purpose of homework is to provide "opportunities for students to deepen their understanding of the content and to gain proficiency with their skills" (Pitler, et al., 2007, p.187). If students do not receive feedback, how will they know they are understanding the content correctly?
Cristina Chico,
ReplyDeleteI am really interested in hearing more about the FREE laptop program your school has for freshman. Is this a program funded through your district, a grant, or a business partner? It would seem that students would work hard for a laptop. About 20 - 25% of my schools student body, do not have computers at home. What an opportunity to be able to provide students with such a valuable tool.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteI don't work at the high school level, but from what I hear down at the elementary level is that this free laptop program was a collaboration between Dell, a few businesses, and the high school. The first group of laptop recipients received their laptops this May. They had to have excellent attendance, behavior, grades, and effort. I will find out more and send you the information.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteBased on what you described in your post with earned "brain tickets" in your classroom for active practice of cognitive skills and school- wide "gotchas" for good behavior, postive reinforcement is definitely being practiced at your campus to shape student behavior in a positive way. The concept of graphing effort with increased scores through spreadsheets to reinforce completing daily practice, homework, and in developing good study habits/skills is a worthwhile endeavor in producing independent and confident learners.
You mentioned your school having an area on the report card for effort and conduct. We have this also, but I don't know how much students at our campus notice this. Having a spreadsheet that students can add to and print out to look at on a weekly basis is a more powerful tool because of the immediacy and ability to view and monitor their own progress. The fact that you are already using this instructional strategy by providing students with individual graphs of weekly assessment scores and sticker charts shows that you are already using an aspect of behaviorism in an effective and constructive manner.