I found "Reinforcing Effort" to be a very important tool in the classroom. Students need to see their progress and be able to chart their scores or efforts on their own. If they are held responsible for grading their own effort based off of a rubric they will be more apt to try harder. Some students can do really well in school naturally, but yet put no effort into their work. I beleive that if they had to chart their effort and achievement, their scores would sky rocket. If students were responsible for their own success I think it would cut down on behavior problems, because they would be more concerned about learning rather than being disruptive. Granted, I do understand that there will always be some form of a behavior issue.
Homework and Practice is another crucial part in students being successful. In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works they stated that "Mastering a skill or process requires a fair amount of focused practice." I think the homework that is sent home weekly should closely relate to the standards or concepts being taught that week. The more practice and repetition they have, the better chance of them learning the skill. I differentiate my students homework depending on which students are grasping the concepts and which students need a little more help. I will send home either remediation work or enrichment work depending on each student. Sometimes I send home both, in hopes that after a few nights of remediation homework they can then do the enrichment homework.
Sending home both types of homework, remediation and enrichment, is a way to meet most students needs. The over achiever can work both sets, the under achiever has something to work on and work toward, and everyone else has the norm. Practicing a skill is necessary in order for it to make a connection. Brain research indicates that our brain looks for meaningful patterns. To comprehend the material we have to connect it to something we already have stored (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). “Homework and practice give the students a chance to review and apply what they have learned” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p. 187). They get a chance to make the connection for life.
ReplyDeleteLaureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program two. Brain Research and Learning [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.
I like the idea of differentiating homework, and think it's a wonderful idea. I shorten some of my students' homework per their IEP, but they are the ones who need the most practice. I have never thought to send enrichment work for my overacheivers.
ReplyDeletePracting a skill is necessary, and since everyone learns differently, I should assign practice accordingly.
I also like the idea of differentiating homework. It seems to me that this would be easier to accomplish at the elementary levels though as there is a smaller set of students to work with. With a group of 30, even with multiple subjects it seems that this would be a simpler part to manage than it would at my level where I have 160-170 students. I attempted that this year but found that I was not able to keep up with the grading of differentiated assignments.
ReplyDeleteHow do you determine whether homework is at the level of behaviorism though and at what level it is at a different level? Is a skill like learning multiplication more based on behaviorism than an analysis of advertising strategies where the students are incorporating multiple types of input? Do you think that there are certain subjects where the homework would be more beneficial if given in a behaviorist way?