Effort, Homework, and Behaviorism

This week I looked at reinforcing effort and homework as two instructional strategies that are used in the classroom.  Research on effort states that not all students realize how important effort is and that students can learn to work from the belief that effort pays off, even if they do not believe it in the beginning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Two important recommendations for teaching effort in the classroom are teaching students about the importance of effort and having students keep track of their effort and achievements (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  These are two great ideas and reinforcing effort in the classroom is important.  This goes back to the behaviorist learning theory, more exclusively operant conditioning.  If a student shows strong and persistent effort, they should be rewarded for this.  I teach first grade and early in the year, my students constantly said "I can't do this," referring to a problem or question they had to answer.  They said this before even trying to answer the question or figure out a problem.  I told them that they weren't allowed to say they can't do anything, especially if they haven't tried it yet.  My students now understand that they need to at least try something and put forth effort.  I think they surprised themselves when they discovered most of the time they could figure it out on their own.  I really like the idea of using a spreadsheet to keep track of effort and how it relates to test scores.  As a first grade teacher, I do not deal with many test scores, but effort is a big factor.  I would like to come up with a way for my students to track their effort and see how it pays off for them.

Homework has always been a huge factor in schools.  Four key ideas about homework are the amount of homework should vary from elementary to high school, parents involvement should be minimal, the purpose should be clear, and teachers should review and comment on it (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Based on these ideas, teachers should have a homework policy, make homework have a purpose and outcome, and have varying approaches to provide feedback (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  As a first grade teacher, I assign homework three to four nights a week and plan on it taking my students no longer than ten minutes.  Homework in first grade is more of a reinforcement of what was done in class that day, and also a good way for parents to see what their child is learning in class.  Operant conditioning comes into play with homework because when it is done, students are rewarded.  In my first grade classroom, it is with a sticker on their homework (you might be surprised at how exciting a sticker is to a first grader!).  There are many opportunities for technology when it comes to homework: word processors, spreadsheets, databases, websites, and communication software.  

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.