Assignment #4: Complete the 4 part assignment format as you read, reflect, and respond to Chapter 4 – Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition.
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A. Self Assessment of Current Beliefs and Practices: This component asks you to reflect on how and why you currently use the instructional strategies of Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition in your classroom. The intent of this is to activate your prior knowledge of your strategy use so that you can make comparisons as you read the chapter. Below are the questions to help you complete your self-assessment.
• This chapter discusses the potential influence of reinforcing students' effort and providing recognition for their accomplishments. Think back to your own personal experiences and try to identify situations in which your learning was positively influenced when someone reinforced your effort or recognized your accomplishments in some significant way. You might also remember situations that would have been improved if someone had reinforced your effort or had given you recognition.
• Now try to remember examples of situations that you positively influenced because you did reinforce students' effort or provide recognition.
• How do you currently reinforce students’ effort in your classroom and what is your purpose?
• What makes reinforcing effective or ineffective?
• Although verbal recognition seems to be most effective, providing concrete tokens (e.g., stickers, candy, toys) can also be effective. What advice would you give to a new teacher about using tokens as rewards?
B. Read & Reflect “Research & Theory”: This portion of the assignment asks you to read chapter 4 and reflect briefly on your thinking after reading the “Research and Theory” section for both reinforcing effort and providing recognition. You may want to consider reflecting on the bulleted comment below.
C. Practice: Choose one of the specific “classroom practice” strategies or techniques shared in this chapter to teach to your students (If you are not currently teaching, you may share how you would use this strategy in your classroom). You may want to consider reflecting on the bulleted comment below. Please post a brief reflection of how this went to the posting labeled Week Four: Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition. Click on the “comment” link below.
• This chapter recommends the use of rubrics to help students see the relationship between their effort and their achievement. Try to identify a specific long-term, challenging assignment that might be enhanced by using these rubrics.
D. Final Strategy Reflection: Use the following sequence of questions/promps to reflect on what you’ve learned about both the strategies presented in the chapter and what you’ve learned about yourself as both a teacher and a learner. Please post your brief reflection to the posting labeled Week Four: Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition by clicking on the “comment” link below.
How has the information you read in this chapter on summarizing affected your thinking about teaching and learning? What have you learned about yourself as a teacher and learner? You may use some of the following questions to assist you in writing a brief strategy reflection:
• How might I change how I reinforce students’ effort in my classroom?
• What is something you now understand better about reinforcing effort or providing recognition?
• How might you change how you provide recognition in your classroom?
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c> One of the strategies I used this week was very simple for me to implement. I used the Pause, Prompt, and Praise strategy with an essay I asked students to write. In order to see what my class learned about Oregon. I asked them to write an essay about three things they learned. Most students were successful because we had spent so much time learning about different places in Oregon. One boy in particular struggled with the assignment he sat and sat very frustrated. He could not think of anything to write. Although this boy is one of my behavior problems he is quite capable of writing an essay. I went and sat next to him and asked him to put his pencil down and asked him asked him to put his pencil down and take a break. I asked him why he thought he was struggling so. He stated that there were other places in Oregon he was really interested in. I explained that time does not allow for me to cover everything. I told him he could complete the assignment at home. I suggested he take our Oregon Book home and read some of the portions we did not have time to cover. I asked him to show me what he came up with first thing in the morning . I was so impressed he ended writing about places I did not have time to cover and was very excited about what he had found. I praised him for his effort and facts that he found on his own and for completing the assignment.
Recently I implemented Daily 5 in my classroom. I thought I could create an Effort and Achievement Rubric so that students could rate their effort in each of the Daily 5 categories. It would look like the rubric in Figure 4.2 but on the Effort and Achievement Chart instead of Assignment I would list Read to Self, Read to Someone, WordWork, Work on Writing and Listen to Reading.
D. This week I have really focused on giving specific personal recognition to students. Our school has implemented a program where we give "treat sheets" to students for demonstrating a specific life skill. They give this sheet to our principal who then puts it into a drawing for books. Once a week at our assembly she draws students names and states the specific behavior that student demonstrated. Our school has seen more positive behavior since we implemented the "Treat Sheets." I find myself getting lazy and not filling them out. As a result of trying to give more to my students last week and this week. I have seen more positive behaviors in my classroom. Students love to be recognized for a specific behavior demonstrated. Great reminder!
Grace - What a great way to turn that situation with the "more difficult" young boy, and not get into a powerplay, but actually give him the opportunity to take responsibility for his learning.... VERY cool!!! Using an Effort and Achievement Chart for Daily 5 sounds interesting...I hope it works for you!
C. The "classroom practice" strategy I chose was Pause, Prompt and Praise. It was during Independent Reading time and a few of my students were having a hard time settling down and choosing a book to read.
One boy in particular was choosing one book after another without reading any of them and disrupting other children who had started to read.. I sat next to him and asked him to mark his place in his book and close it. I told him I had noticed that he was having a hard time settling down and that he seemed frustrated with his choices of books. He replied saying that there weren't any books that he liked in the baskets and that the other students had taken all the good books.
I proceeded to question him about what kinds of books he wanted to read and what types of things he was interested in. I helped him to make a list in his reading log about different genres and titles of books he might like and we revisited the procedures for "Independent Reading" time. I asked him to spend some quiet/thoughtful time looking for a book and then to find a nice place in our room and begin reading.
He went right to the nonfiction basket chose a book and sat on a pillow near the windows and began to read. It took him a few minutes to settle down and "really begin to read" and periodically he would look up to see if I was watching. With each look, I smiled and nodded my head to reassure him that I truly believed that he was capable of following my directions.
When I saw that he no longer felt the need to look up at me, I went and sat by him and patted him on the back and said how glad I was to have such a responsible self-manager in my reading class. He smiled and gave me a hug. You know, the Pause, Prompt, Praise works both ways-teacher & student both benefit from the praise.
D. My school started recognizing positive student behaviors by giving out "Golden Tickets" to students that have exhibited being kind, responsible or safe while at school. Then once a week three students from each class are selected and they get to go to the "Book Nook" and choose a book to take home. I have been a little hesitant to give too many because I really feel strongly about Praise vs. reward but after reading some reward is fine I will try giving more of these golden tickets since the reward is a book.
"He smiled and gave me a hug. You know, the Pause, Prompt, Praise works both ways-teacher & student both benefit from the praise."....aawww!
Isn't that what teaching is all about? These are the things that push us forward during those harder moments, and keep us wanting to be the best teacher we can be! :)...by the way, I have a hard time with all the "rewards" also...my new building gives rewards for EVERYTHING...definitely overkill!!!
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