This blog has evolved and will continue to evolve...this is what happens when you turn off the TV for over a year...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Behaviorism and Technology
I was very excited to read our textbook this week. This is very strange considering its close to PSSAs and who has the time to actually READ?!
It should be stated that the topics in our reading were "reinforcing effort" and "homework and practice" from our textbook Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Nothing gets me more than when my students are not performing at these two things. Effort and homework/practice are so important to success in math.
I was particularly drawn to the generalization I saw in the homework/practice chapter of our book on pg. 187 that stated "if homework is assigned, it should be commented upon." My first thought was, "Oh heavens! Over 100 assignments at least twice a week to comment on!" This is where I believe technology would be a wonderful resource. There are so many tutorials out there especially for math where students can do the work for pre-established problems and then have them checked and commented on by a computer to ensure direct and speedy reinforcements according to methods of conditioned responses of the behaviorist design. One such website was listed by Dr. Larson in our resources: WebMATH. I especially like the idea of allowing students to work on studyisland.com at home for an assignment because they get the immediate response from the computer and results are automatically emailed to their teachers as well to focus instruction or have private conferences regarding results. Instant gratification is a huge reinforcer as the behaviorist theory is used!
Along similar lines having measurable data on each student provides a very good lesson in effort correlating to success. It is very easy to use technology (particularly spreadsheets and graphs in this case) to visually stimulate a student response as it is difficult to have students run automatically on internal motivation. All that is needed is a simple rubric as shown on page 158 of "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works." One can easily set this rubric up including individual scores to compare effort to grades. This is a positive reinforcement in Skinner's "operant conditioning" system. Students can watch as their effort improves, their grades also do that same.
Once again I ask:
How do you AVOID using behaviorist theories?
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2009. Behaviorist Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Baltimore: Author
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Nice to be back blogging with you over course work. We are in the midst of our CMT's here in CT. This weeks instant reinforcement made me think how wonderful it would be if our state testing became computerized and student's could see right away where their thinking went awry.
Wouldn't it be great to get back instant feedback ourselves. We were talking about one of our questions today and the way several students had responded. FIFO. Sometimes I don't think they even fully read the questions, let alone the answers. I could definitely see how drill and practice would benefit mathematics. How much easier is it to be able to factor in your head? I remember the old one minute grid practice we had back in the stone ages. I got so excited when I was able to correctly complete the entire grid.
It would be great to utilize this kind of learning with positive reinforcement found in computer drill and practice programs. It would be even better for the teacher to be able to get reports on the progression of each student. What a great diagnostic.
We use a program called Renaissance at my school that works with the Smart Board and hand held responders. It is this kind of program that will allow us to quickly determine what our kids learned and what they are struggling with.
We also have "clickers" to use with the board. Alas, our district has not trained us to use them. Technology is wonderful, but you have to know best practice for it to be effective. I can't wait to learn about these clickers!
Hello Miss. Ellis, The teacher to student ratio in many of our schools is so high that during class time it is almost impossible to offer students the descriptive and immediate feedback necessary to their academic development. This is one of the reasons why educational technology tools are so important for the classroom. When students receive feedback, the correlation between effort and success is reinforced and students’ internal locus of control is heightened.
Should we avoid using the behaviorist theory in our classroom practice? No. As an educator I believe that all the theories have some merit and certain elements that can be implemented to the benefit of our students. The behaviorist theory for example highlights the need of having a structured classroom and effective classroom management skills that are hallmarks of our trade. In most classrooms you will see a little bit of all theories demonstrated which only goes to show that education and learning are both dynamic processes.
The teacher to student ratio in many of our schools is so high that during class time it is almost impossible to offer students the descriptive and immediate feedback necessary to their academic development. This is one of the reasons why educational technology tools are so important for the classroom. When students receive feedback, the correlation between effort and success is reinforced and students’ internal locus of control is heightened.
Should we avoid using the behaviorist theory in our classroom practice? No. As an educator I believe that all the theories have some merit and certain elements that can be implemented to the benefit of our students. The behaviorist theory for example highlights the need of having a structured classroom and effective classroom management skills that are hallmarks of our trade. In most classrooms you will see a little bit of all theories demonstrated which only goes to show that education and learning are both dynamic processes. Great Post!
We have been feeling the pinch over here in California when it comes to student-teacher ratio. Our District gave notices to 2 very promising new teachers who were only given notices because they weren't tenured. Because of this, every single one of my 6 math classes is packed (between 38-40 students). I only mention this because of the homework about giving comments. To give some attention to each student, I "check" the homework assignments by going by each students desk, eyeballing, certain problems, look for completion and check it off.
Online educational games and tutorials are items I want to add to our homework and practice. If they print out a certificate of completion, it shows me when it was completed and how well they did. Although we can't 100% be sure it is them that is doing the work, i will stress to my students that this is for their benefit and having other do their work for them will not help when testing time comes. Our school is pushing testing scores and content and unfortunately it sometimes feels that learning is going to the waist side. With our deeper understanding of how technology can help facilitate or strengthen learning capabilities of our students, I have hope that we can help every math student.
Hi Ms. Ellis:
ReplyDeleteNice to be back blogging with you over course work. We are in the midst of our CMT's here in CT. This weeks instant reinforcement made me think how wonderful it would be if our state testing became computerized and student's could see right away where their thinking went awry.
Wouldn't it be great to get back instant feedback ourselves. We were talking about one of our questions today and the way several students had responded. FIFO. Sometimes I don't think they even fully read the questions, let alone the answers.
I could definitely see how drill and practice would benefit mathematics. How much easier is it to be able to factor in your head? I remember the old one minute grid practice we had back in the stone ages. I got so excited when I was able to correctly complete the entire grid.
It would be great to utilize this kind of learning with positive reinforcement found in computer drill and practice programs. It would be even better for the teacher to be able to get reports on the progression of each student. What a great diagnostic.
We use a program called Renaissance at my school that works with the Smart Board and hand held responders. It is this kind of program that will allow us to quickly determine what our kids learned and what they are struggling with.
Gotta love technology!
We also have "clickers" to use with the board. Alas, our district has not trained us to use them. Technology is wonderful, but you have to know best practice for it to be effective. I can't wait to learn about these clickers!
ReplyDeleteHello Miss. Ellis,
ReplyDeleteThe teacher to student ratio in many of our schools is so high that during class time it is almost impossible to offer students the descriptive and immediate feedback necessary to their academic development. This is one of the reasons why educational technology tools are so important for the classroom. When students receive feedback, the correlation between effort and success is reinforced and students’ internal locus of control is heightened.
Should we avoid using the behaviorist theory in our classroom practice? No. As an educator I believe that all the theories have some merit and certain elements that can be implemented to the benefit of our students. The behaviorist theory for example highlights the need of having a structured classroom and effective classroom management skills that are hallmarks of our trade. In most classrooms you will see a little bit of all theories demonstrated which only goes to show that education and learning are both dynamic processes.
Great Post!
Hello Miss. Ellis,
ReplyDeleteThe teacher to student ratio in many of our schools is so high that during class time it is almost impossible to offer students the descriptive and immediate feedback necessary to their academic development. This is one of the reasons why educational technology tools are so important for the classroom. When students receive feedback, the correlation between effort and success is reinforced and students’ internal locus of control is heightened.
Should we avoid using the behaviorist theory in our classroom practice? No. As an educator I believe that all the theories have some merit and certain elements that can be implemented to the benefit of our students. The behaviorist theory for example highlights the need of having a structured classroom and effective classroom management skills that are hallmarks of our trade. In most classrooms you will see a little bit of all theories demonstrated which only goes to show that education and learning are both dynamic processes.
Great Post!
Hello Fellow Math Teacher!
ReplyDeleteWe have been feeling the pinch over here in California when it comes to student-teacher ratio. Our District gave notices to 2 very promising new teachers who were only given notices because they weren't tenured. Because of this, every single one of my 6 math classes is packed (between 38-40 students). I only mention this because of the homework about giving comments. To give some attention to each student, I "check" the homework assignments by going by each students desk, eyeballing, certain problems, look for completion and check it off.
Online educational games and tutorials are items I want to add to our homework and practice. If they print out a certificate of completion, it shows me when it was completed and how well they did. Although we can't 100% be sure it is them that is doing the work, i will stress to my students that this is for their benefit and having other do their work for them will not help when testing time comes. Our school is pushing testing scores and content and unfortunately it sometimes feels that learning is going to the waist side. With our deeper understanding of how technology can help facilitate or strengthen learning capabilities of our students, I have hope that we can help every math student.