During the first week of this course, we had to write about our personal theory of learning. My learning theory, at that time, was based on the behaviorist’s theory. Lever-Duffy and McDonald describe this learning theory as all behavior is a response to an external stimuli (2008, p. 15). This is very true in my classroom. Most students are typically motivated to do an assignment only if they know I am going to grade it. They do not care that the practice is required to be successful for future assignments and understanding. They are mostly working for short-term satisfaction. I use rewards and punishments to motivate my students. They get demerits or bad grades for not completing their assignments. Rewards are also needed to motivate students. If students are on task and behaving in class, I sometimes will reduce homework assignments or give extra points. These seem to be the greatest motivators for my students.
After reviewing the learning resources for this course, I have discovered social learning theories. Social learning theories actively engage students in constructing artifacts and conversing with others (Laureate Education, 2010b). Students are social and can learn while working with others. Cooperative learning can be a great strategy to incorporate into the classroom. Students are given the opportunity to work with others. This will help to master communication skills needed in their futures. Many technologies can be used to help expand on this learning theory. Students can use blogs and wikis to communicate with each other.
As of now, there is little use of technology in my instructional practice. I use the Smart Board daily and sometimes graphing calculators. This course has made me aware of supplementary technology that could be a fantastic addition to my lessons. I would like to begin next year with the use of a social networking site such as Facebook, schoology.com or edmodo.com. These sites would be successful for posting assignments and communicating with parents and students. Facebook could be beneficial by creating a group for my classes. Many students and parents are on Facebook and have access to this on their mobile phones. They would be able to view the page anywhere or anytime without having Internet access at home. Any of these sites would be great for class discussions and questions. Students could post questions regarding their homework and have immediate feedback.
Another instructional strategy I would like to add immediately to my instruction is “cues, questions and advance organizers.” Advance organizers “enhance students’ ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 73). This strategy can help students recognize the connection between topics in a unit. Students can create concept maps using online resources and use these as study guides for assessments. Advance organizers can also be designed to use during note-taking.
It has been difficult to decide on two long term goals that involve integrating technology in the classroom. This brings me back to my dilemma of lack of computer and Internet access outside of the school for many students. I will have to combine time in the computer lab with the limited time to cover as many state standards as possible for upcoming state testing. Reinforcing effort can be used to “enhance students’ understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (Pitler et al., 2007, p. 155). The behaviorist learning theory mentions that reinforcement is more powerful than punishment (Laureate Education, 2010a). Students will perform better in class when they are rewarded or understand their effort is increasing their grades. One of my long term goals is to have my students begin to track their effort and compare this to their grades. They can keep track in their folder by charting homework grades and time spent practicing and completing homework. We can go the computer lab at the end of the unit to enter this information into a spreadsheet. Students will then print a graph to compare how time spent studying affected their grade on tests. I hope to begin to incorporate technology as much as possible over the next few years. I want to use blogs or wikis for class and group communication. Social networking sites will be useful to parents and students. My most important goal is to take my classes to the computer lab a few times each grading period. They enjoy technology therefore it needs to be a staple of today’s classroom. I hope to design at least one (but hopefully more) activity using cooperative learning and technology for every class every year. I want these activities to use different technological tools and involve students in communicating through blogs and wikis. These are important tools to prepare students for their future in the workplace.
Resources
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010a). Program four. Behaviorist learning theory [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010b). Program eight. Social learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2008). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed. pp. 2-35). Boston: Pearson Education.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
