Up until I started taking this course, I did not really give much thought into what type of learning theory in which I believed and used most in my classroom. I am a firm believer in students being successful based on a good work ethic. As a secondary math teacher, I know students need to put time into their work in and out of the classroom to practice their skills and keep them sharp. I have always made participation in class part of their quarterly grade using a rubric, but I really like the idea of creating a spreadsheet that will help students see that their efforts are directly correlated to their results of classwork, homework, and assessments. I teach 8th grade math and Algebra 1 to 8th graders. Most middle school students need to learn to work hard to get high school credit. Whenever students start playing the blame game for not doing well, I remind them taking Algebra 1 and learning it well requires hard work and they enrolled in it voluntarily. They seem to rise to the challenge.
Although a lot of the behavior we see and mold as teachers are through response and stimulus, we need to be careful to not cause damage by using it too much. Zimmer said there is research that shows that in nature, if an animal is affected by outside stimulus (ex: recovering from and injury), the animal may not be able to be a survivor when released back into his habitat. They are more successful without outside factors than with outside factors. Trying to maintain a similar delicate balance with classroom instruction, I as a teacher try to make the best decisions possible with the resources I have used in the past and now use in the present with my colleagues. Depending on the lesson or concept I am trying to teach, there are some that students learn best using behaviorist learning techniques while others are best brought forth by constructivist methods.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Zimmer, Gene. Meaning and Motivation. Retrieved on 11/14 from http://www.sntp.net/behaviorism/motivation.htm
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Jen,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting thought. "Zimmer said there is research that shows that in nature, if an animal is affected by outside stimulus (ex: recovering from and injury), the animal may not be able to be a survivor when released back into his habitat." The balance we are trying to maintain is incredible. For instance if a student knows only to rely on themselves at home, how can they trust a teacher to give them what they need (knowledge)? What a concept! Thinking about this makes me realize where some of my students are coming from, and why I am not getting the responses I wish to be. Thanks for the insight!
Brittany Lundberg