Teachers have observed a student and made judgments of the likelihood of the student’s success based on the environment from which the student comes. John B. Watson believed that “the environment shapes one’s behavior; what one learns is determined by the elements in the environment, not by the individual learner” (Smith, K., 1999). As an educator, one must understand that technology plays a critical role shaping the student’s environment. From spreadsheets, data collections tool, and word processing, a student can track effort, practice, and learning to shape his or her environment. The use of technology demands the student’s emersion in the learning process.
As a teacher who believes in project-based learning, I was surprised by the level of behaviorism-based instruction I use every week in my classroom. As a way to put some of the responsibility for learning on our students, my school issued every student a binder to keep track of benchmark tests, grades, progress reports, absences and among other progress monitoring techniques. The purpose was to demonstrate to the students that the effort they put into their own learning, would show growth. From the text Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works (Pitler, H., Hubbell, .E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. 2007), many examples of using technology to show effort are given. The use of spreadsheet software could be set up to give the students immediate feedback. My school could replace the binders with spreadsheets. By giving the students the tools to track their effort, we are changing their behavior. A group of students, who may feel they could never improve, could watch their grades improve as a result of benchmark tests and instructional resource practice.
Technology and behaviorism are linked in many of the resources students use weekly. “Reinforcement is the cardinal motivator” (Smith, K., 1999). Students in West Virginia are using software to improve writing that gives the students immediate feedback. A prompt is given, students write the essay, and submit for scoring. The score is sent back with a rubric that details each item. Strengths are noted and weaknesses are given with tips to improve in each specific area. Students may edit the essay and resubmit. The rubric scores students from one to six. This software has improved writing for our students with the immediate feedback being a key component.
One final example of “drill and practice” in behaviorism-based technology is the use of instructional resources. Students in my classes have the opportunity to work in class or from home on instructional computer games and skill-based practices linked to my class web page. These resources help to reinforce classroom instruction. (See the links below.)
Now that I have taken a closer look behaviorism, I see that there is definitely a place for this theory in the 21st-Century classroom. As a classroom teacher, my job is to use the technology tools to enhance learning. I first learned of behaviorism in the 20th-Century but I linked it to training students to memorize facts and behaving in class. As an educator, I always hope I remember to encourage creativity in my students. Behaviorism has its place, but I hope to never kill the creativity. B. F. Skinner once said, “The real problem is not whether machines think but whether men do” (Skinner, B.) I wonder what he would think of our 21st-Century technology.
Links
Resources
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
B.F. SKINNER, works and life. (n.d.).WEBRINGS--the directory to over 1000 articles by California Skeptics. Retrieved January 11, 2012, from http://www.skeptically.org/skinner/index
Smith, K. (1999). The behaviourist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm
Shelley,
ReplyDeleteI found it fascinating that your school gives students a binder to track their effort. I work in a city school and know for a fact that probably over 50% of the binders we would distribute would never return with the student. I think that utilizing technology would be an incredible tool for students to track their effort without putting the responsibility of having to keep a binder with them. It would be an efficient and effective strategy. You could also have students use data in math class to create graphs or presentations for the student body. This could become very cross-curricular in nature.
I agree with the importance of immediate feedback. I would like to implement programs to improve writing that gives immediate feedback. As a teacher of 120 students, it is difficult to have students write an essay and get it back to them immediately. I work diligently but feel it as though a disservice to not have feedback to them immediately. It is the nature of the media and society to promote instant gratification, we should be providing this structure with feedback also. Great points!
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI thought it would be crazy too, but we keep the binders in homebase so they can't lose them. The problem is that the binders aren't being used to their potential. We are trying out this idea to keep track of the students' reading scores more than anything else. We give them a vocabulary test and a reading comprehension test three times a year, plus a short benchmark style quiz based on our RTI classes. Creating a spreadsheet would be a great idea, but of course, our problem is the lack of computer access for all the students. We have two labs for the whole school. We are a very small district and our high school is just going one to one with lap tops, so we have been promised the old desk top computers. As you can guess, the launch of the lap tops has now left our school with little tech support! Bottom line: our staff is frustrated with the technology our state is pushing. We do not have many "digital natives."
As for essays, our state uses a program that has been adapted for us. It was called Writing Roadmap, but is WVWrites now. It has been adapted to include a rubric based on the writing assessment our state uses. Although the students get tired of it some times, overall, they like it. A new feature is one that allows the teacher to go in and make comments. I like that it scores the essay for me, but the students still like for me to read what they write. I need to do a better job of reading everyone and adding comments. I am taking a break from it because it does seem a little "drill and kill" sometimes.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Shelley
Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteThis is the link to our state department.
http://wvde.state.wv.us/instruction/WVWrites.htm. There are some good resources for writing here.
Shelley
Many students do come from a poor environment but the classroom can be a haven for them and a completely different environment. I have spent the past year plus trying to be stricter because of state tests but this does not create a good learning environment. Students being threatened about low test scores is not right. Our school has a big party for the students that do well on the state tests. But what if the student trys their best but just doesnt have the skills to be a top learner.
ReplyDeleteI like your comments on using spreadsheets. Do your kids have computer access in the classroom or would you have to enter the data manually yourself.
thank you for your post
Scott Parks
Scott,
ReplyDeleteWe have access, but we have a computer lab we have to sign up for. That isn't usually a problem for me because most of folks don't use it. I hear you on the state testing. How frustrating it would be to be a student who doesn't score high enough to attend the big party! My own son scores low,especially in reading, and it would be terrible to be singled out that way. But I understand what your school is trying to do. We feel like we are working harder than our kids, so we try to put some of the responsibility on the student. We have some kids who just coloring the circles and finish the entire reading section in under 15 minutes. The students have to bring something to the table and it is hard to motivate them if they just don't care. Spreadsheets may help with the average kid, but not for the middle school kid who really doesn't care yet. Hope you have more luck with your high school students!
Thanks,
Shelley
Shelley,
ReplyDeleteI love that you provide your students with binders of their scores to provide them their own sense of success. When teaching middle school students, I am sure they need as much motivation as possible in order to work to their fullest potential. I think that is a great way. Due to the fact they are used to viewing their scores anyway, the spreadsheet might be a way to take that information further to add more meaning to it.
I also like the practice websites that you provide for your students. They are excellent resources to have.
Melissa
Shelley,
ReplyDeleteI really like the binder idea in your school. Within my own classroom I have my students create weekly graphs on Excel to chart their math facts for the week. They then print out two copies, one they put into their little folder or binder that I keep in the classroom and the other goes home to show their parents. I like the idea of keeping all their tests and assessment things in there. I think it is a great way for the students to see how their effort affects their achievement. I was wondering how long these binders have been implemented in your school. Also, have you seen them working for students in your school?
I was intrigued by your talking about your writing program that your students use. It sounds very similar to a new writing curriculum that we started this year. Ours is called Writesource. You can check it out at (https://ws.hmhpub.com/writesource/) The students also do their work on the computer and then submit it to me and I review it and post comments and then send it back to them so they can review the comments. The students then get to change their writing to make it better before they re-submit the final piece to me. We have only had it this year, but we have noticed that it does a great job teaching the students about each piece of the writing process. How do you fell about your writing program?
Great post,
Chad
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Using a spreadsheet would be a good idea for my students. I'm afraid our problem is access to computers. I am looking forward to the day we have either a set of lap tops in my room or all the students have his or her own lap top!
Thanks!
Shelley
Chad,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like your new writing tool! The kids really need feedback and it is nice to make them feel like it is just a part of the editing process. Because we are encouraged to use our program often, I will assign four prompts at once and give the students freedom to choose when they write to each one. I have to admit, because the essays are automatically scored, I sometimes do not read every single one. What I have found is great for the students, is to let them choose the essay they think is their best one and post it to our ThnikQuest site. ThinkQuest is a safe site only our students can see. They create a discussion board with the essay for feedback from the other students. I love how much better the kids write when they know their peers will be reading!
Thanks for the comments!
Shelley