According to Dr. Michael Orey, when
we look at operant conditioning, reinforcement and punishment, reinforcement is
the more powerful of the two (Laureate, 2011).
I personally agree with Dr. Orey, positive reinforcement is such a
better motivator to students. I also
read some instructional strategies that focus on this positive reinforcement.
One of the
strategies that really grabbed my attention was providing recognition. One way is to hand out badges for achievement
to provide students with concrete recognition (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn,
2012). I currently do this with our
classroom Edmodo account. The students complete their work on our class page
and then I can go through the badges and award them to the students who have
earned them. The students love this part of our classroom page. When the
students see that someone got a new badge, they will work extra hard because
they want to earn that badge as well. This is a perfect example of positive reinforcement.
One student is rewarded for their hard work and now other students are working
hard because they want that same recognition.
Part of this strategy is using communication software. I found it interesting that they want you to use instant messaging. While I do
not have students on my personal Facebook page, I do have a teacher Facebook
page where I can showcase class work and projects and make announcements as
parent reminder. I will often use the messaging side to send a group message to
a student and the parent to congratulate them on something that they have done
well. I also like to send pictures this way of something that the student
created in class that I thought the parent would like to see. This has been a
big step in my communication with parents and it has really helped in the
aspect of the positive recognition for my students. I am recognizing them, and
then when I include the parent in the message, then the parent will reward them
for the same thing.
Another strategy is reinforcing effort. I currently use a "Math Minutes" board in my classroom. When the students have mastered a set of multiplication facts they get to put a check next to their name and select from the prize basket. They should know all of their facts by the time they get to 4th grade, but this is an easy way for us to encourage our students to keep working towards mastery. We discuss daily how important it is to study the facts at home. My students who get their "study sheet" signed and they pass their next set are able to pick out 2 prizes. This helps students make the connection that they are studying at home and also passing their facts.
The last strategy is assigning homework and providing practice. There is a lot of controversy over homework and I honestly do not like to assign homework. I do have my students read nightly for their independent reading goal, but I never send home worksheets or actual assignments that I take for a grade. I do give them extra practice that they can do at home, but it is not for a grade. We have a large population of students who are below poverty, and their home lives are already hectic. They have parents that are not motivated to help their kids get their homework done or they are "too busy" to help. I feel that this just sets students up to fail and can stress them out more than help them. While I do not assign homework I know that if I did, giving immediate feedback is crucial.
Another strategy is reinforcing effort. I currently use a "Math Minutes" board in my classroom. When the students have mastered a set of multiplication facts they get to put a check next to their name and select from the prize basket. They should know all of their facts by the time they get to 4th grade, but this is an easy way for us to encourage our students to keep working towards mastery. We discuss daily how important it is to study the facts at home. My students who get their "study sheet" signed and they pass their next set are able to pick out 2 prizes. This helps students make the connection that they are studying at home and also passing their facts.
The last strategy is assigning homework and providing practice. There is a lot of controversy over homework and I honestly do not like to assign homework. I do have my students read nightly for their independent reading goal, but I never send home worksheets or actual assignments that I take for a grade. I do give them extra practice that they can do at home, but it is not for a grade. We have a large population of students who are below poverty, and their home lives are already hectic. They have parents that are not motivated to help their kids get their homework done or they are "too busy" to help. I feel that this just sets students up to fail and can stress them out more than help them. While I do not assign homework I know that if I did, giving immediate feedback is crucial.
I feel that
all students respond to positive recognition, if the recognition is for them,
or they see another student getting that positive recognition. Technology has
definitely made it easier to get kids the instant gratification and feedback through
interactive instructional activities and games and through the many other
strategies.
References
Pitler, H.,
Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works
(2nd ed.). Alexandria,VA: ASCD.
Laureate
Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory
[Video
webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology.
Retrieved
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI love that you have a teacher Facebook account for your class information, to communicate with parents and students, and to provide recognition. I have often thought about creating a Facebook page since it is a part of so many lives and people check it daily (if not hourly). How does your district or school feel about this? Do they encourage it?
In our district, it has been recommended that teachers not have Facebook pages and if we do, we've been trained about what is appropriate to share. I think if I were to create a Facebook teacher page, I would have some obstacles to overcome. However, I like the idea because information would come up on their newsfeed. I know there are many other technology tools to communicate with parents like a blog, web site, email, or even Remind 101 - the free texting tool to communicate with parents via text messages. I just feel that Facebook would be more accessible and useful for both teachers and parents because it is so widely used.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Mandy
Hi Mandy
DeleteOur district doesn't really have a policy about Facebook, only that we don't add students to our personal account. Our district has it's own Facebook page to update parents and students about any changes or new that might be relevant to share.
I tried to use a Blog one year, and I found that parents just wouldn't go to the website to check it. If they check their Facebook page daily (or more) they are going to see any information that I want them to be aware of. It works out great!
Thanks
Haley
Haley,
DeleteCan you share your Facebook page with me? You can send it privately if you don't feel comfortable posting on here. I would love to start one this summer! And, yes, I agree- Facebook is more accessible for parents. A blog is just another site for them to visit. Most don't understand or use RSS feeds.
Thanks,
Mandy
I enjoyed reading your post and how you are applying what we are learning in class to your own classroom! This thought resonated with me:
ReplyDelete“According to Dr. Michael Orey, when we look at operant conditioning, reinforcement and punishment, reinforcement is the more powerful of the two (Laureate, 2011).” It seems to me that consequences will only have a short-term effect on students as the punishment is only temporary; however, the words of affirmation resonate most with students long term.
I find that I use positive reinforcement often in my classroom as I have a classroom economy and therefore am constantly offering “class cash” as rewards. I often try to initially capture the attention of my students with this reward system with true hopes that the students will like the activity or learning project they are embarking upon and will find real value in it. I want my students to overall find the satisfaction in learning and working on a challenge that was enriching for them. I think it is important that we take the time as teachers to provide feedback and celebrate the journey of the “small steps” towards achievement. After all, not all children may be able to complete all of the assignment fully but should be rewarded for what they can accomplishment.
I love that use edmodo and facebook to do this! I never thought of using facebook for class updates but this is brilliant! Do you find that this is easier to keep track of edmodo? Is it confusing to have both? Do you prefer once system over the other? Any advice is appreciated!!
Thank you for the reply A.LogGrasso
DeleteI use Facebook mainly as a communication tool with parents and the few students whose parents let them open an account.
I post class news, reminder, and even pictures and projects.
I use edmodo as an interactive classroom. This provides me the opportunity to post links, administer quizzes, send out documents, and even have some assignments graded for me. It is a time saver in the classroom and I definitely could not imagine my class without it.
I do not get the 2 confused, mainly because of how differently I use them. My Facebook focus is parents and my edmodo focus is an interactive, digital platform for learning.
Thank
Haley
I signed up for an Edmondo account a few months back but have not really had time to learn it and set it up. That is on my "summer list" of things to do! I was not aware that you could give students badges, so I'm really excited about learning more about the site. I agree with your statement "I feel that all students respond to positive recognition, if the recognition is for them, or they see another student getting that positive recognition" and use positive reinforcement in my room with my fifth graders. They are supportive of others, but also quite competitive and want to get those positive remarks and points. I use www.classdojo.com as a rewards system and the students and parents are able to log on at anytime and see how many "points" they have based on positive behavior.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I have a teacher facebook page, but use it mainly for parent updates since few of my fifth graders are allowed to use facebook. On my page, I share photos, student work, information about our class trip to Washington, changes in homework, etc. I love using facebook because virtually everyone is already on it, so it's easy to follow with one "like"!
Hi Jenn!
DeleteIt sounds like we both use Facebook as an effective tool for communication with parents.
I would really recommend getting comfortable with Edmodo. I use it almost daily. I can create quizzes (and it will grade them for me), I can send out a word document, maybe a study guide, the students can fill out their study guide and then turn it back into me through the Edmodo account. It is helping me in my goal of going paperless.
Good luck!!
Haley
I'm glad you have the courage in your classroom to go against the norm of assigning tons of homework to your students. I believe homework is a formative way for teachers to know what the students needs remediation on, not just for rote practice. There are ways for teachers to know if students understand the material. Also, there are fun and often free, technology applications that they can practice the rote material. I do feel that the older kids get, the more responsibility they can handle of doing homework at home. Homework should be age appropriate.
ReplyDelete