To use technology effectively, behaviorist learning theories must play a part in the planning of the lessons. One example is the use of the strategy of reinforcing efforts. Immediate results are a must when trying to use this tool to highlight the benefits of trying. As a middle school teacher, when we are trying to give my students research and writing assignments, I use a program called MY Access! This is a word processing tool that offers writing assistance. With this program, my students can get immediate feedback and scores as well as rewrite their assignment before submitting it to me. I believe this has taken away the apprehension that students feel because they are not sure about their writing skills and they have the opportunity to get the immediate assistance they need. What a great strategy.
Another example of a behaviorist learning strategy is the use of homework and practice. Writing takes practice. It is so hard to get my students to understand that writing is beneficial. Again, I really enjoy working with the program MY Access! Because it seems similar of Microsoft Word, it is easy to use and offers many of the same attractive tools. The benefit that my students receive from this tool is the ability to work on their assignments on the internet. This is a benefit because they can work with their parents, work with other students, or just work for a longer period of time. The strategy of incorporating this tool into either homework extension as well as more practice makes this a valuable tool for everyone.
References
MY Access!
https://www.myaccess.com/myaccess/do/log?m1283995513672=true
Hi Dreanna,
ReplyDeleteI agree--immediate feedback and an opportunity to change or make corrections to work can be so helpful. Having feedback in real time allows students to alter their schemas and strengthen their understanding.
Technology is great for this--as teachers, we don't typically have a small enough class to be able to provide one-on-one immediate feedback--technology can accomplish this.
Susan
I will have to try the MY Access. It sounds like a great opportunity to strengthen not only my students' writing abilities, but also their confidence in writing. Immediate feedback is such a problem when there are 180 essays to read. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAmy
I will also look in MY Access, sounds like a great site. In my school all content areas are to submit two samples of writing over the course of the year. The piece should be ready to publish. I find it difficult to confrence and provided the one on one time needed to help develop the piece. I also struggle with editing that does not take away from the students original work. I am excited about the resource and hopefully it will help address some of my areas of concern.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I even see the benefits of immediate feedback in video games. My kids cannot wait to replay the game because they realize what they did incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I have tried peer partnering in writing and for some, it is painful. You are right, the idea that a program can assist them makes a huge difference in their confidence.
Rebecca, you cannot go wrong with this program. But realize, it is a program so the only drawback is helping students understand voice and tone. Good luck!
I agree that immediate responses in middle school are so important. I work in a middle school classroom and the students are often asking questions about how they did on an assignment. Even if the assignment does not use technology, they still want that feedback. Giving the feedback later on after they have had a chance to forget about their performance is not near as effective as giving them the immediate feedback. But the feedback should include how they can do better on the assignment or what wrong turn they took when going through the process. Great ideas!
ReplyDelete