Behaviorism and Instructional Technology in the Classroom

Looking through this weeks readings in “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” and watching Dr. Orey discuss the behaviorist learning theory showed me that a lot of what is done in the classroom on a regular basis relates to the ideas offered in the readings. I teach middle school, therefore, the idea of “drill and practice” is used frequently in all of their classes. We as teachers need to make sure that the students are clear on what is expected of them no matter what kind of activity they are working on. Offering positive feedback to students will encourage them to continue to work hard. This is especially true when dealing with instructional technology like tutorial programs or other computer programs. Often when working with tutorial programs they will be working alone and need to be self-motivated to get the work done. Giving students praise for doing well in class will encourage them to turn in quality work and use their time in class to be successful. It is important that they are learning from the computer programs not just “playing”. Reinforcing topics covered in class through a computer activity is a great way to increase student learning. A great website that is mentioned in the class text is called “Flashcard Exchange” which is a virtual flashcard activity. Students can access this at home and parents can use it to review with them! It could also be used for a homework assignment/study tool since homework is often given as a reinforcement tool. After all Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski , “homework and practice give students a chance to review and apply what they have learned” (p. 187). I look forward to using this program in my class next school year.

Another program that I mentioned in my discussion this week that I use weekly is “BrainPOP”, which has several activities that students can use and teachers. It has a lot of great instructional tools that can be used in class and it offers interactive activities that can be done with students individually or as a large group. When students are working with programs such as this it is important that teachers are facilitating the learning and making sure that students are exhibiting positive behavior while they are working. If students are watching the video as a whole group it may be a good idea to take the interactive quiz as a whole at the end and allow students to talk amongst each other to come up with the answers. It is an easy way to give a participation grade and those that cannot behave and work cooperatively would have consequences like the behaviorist theory suggests. If they are not demonstrating good behavior then they are not going to be effectively learning or retaining information. It is also a great way to review information covered in class because a lot of the videos cover a unit that is taught over the course of a month or so. They can review what was taught in a short video clip and see how it can be presented to them differently.

My hope is that incorporating interactive and instructional technology will increase student participation in class. The more they want to participate in activities the higher chance they have of retaining information being taught. Giving students the opportunity to explore different websites like, “Kitchen Chemistry” and “Hurricane Strike!” will hopefully peak their interest and make them want to learn more. The “Kitchen Chemistry” gives them a chance to work with virtual experiments as well as teach them about the differences between acids and bases. If they practice with the virtual experiments they can begin to develop an understanding of the difference between an acid and base. The “Hurricane Strike!” website is a tutorial that ultimately leads to students being able to determine the path of a hurricane. They can begin to learn to make predictions about hurricanes and how they travel. These types of websites give the appeal of a “drill and practice” because they can practice determining how a hurricane moves or how acids and bases work and then when they return to the website at a later date they can recall what they did the previous time and base their decisions on that. I think they can be used as a remediation tool as well.

Web resources are a great tool that can be used for practice, remediation and recalling information. They can often be accessed at home and parents can follow what their children are doing with the program. They are a great study tool for students to use as review before a test. Game based programs offer students incentives because after they do the “work” they get to play a game that correlates with the material that is covered. According to Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn and Malenoski, “Online educational games have an inherent appeal and generate immediate feedback that allows a student, parent and teacher to monitor progress toward master” (p. 195).For example, when students are learning how to type they have a program that teaches the skills and then the skills are reinforced with a “game” where they have to get a certain amount of words typed correctly and quickly. It looks just like a game they would play on Playstation or Xbox, so they really seem to enjoy it!

Anytime you can get students to enjoy what they are learning you have successfully taught them something. They remember the activities that catch their interests and relate to them. It is important to bring those types of things into the classroom and these days it seems like interactive technology is the way to go!

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