Behaviorism and Reinforcing Effort

“Effort is the most important factor in achievement” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007) and yet many students attribute achievement to environmental factors. It is recommended that the students track their effort and achievement so they see the relationship between effort and achievement. This can be accomplished by developing an effort rubric with the students. Then as they work through a current unit they track their grades and effort on a spreadsheet. At the end of the unit they can create a chart that shows a clear representation of the relationship between effort and grades. By having the students tracking their effort this way it allows the teacher and students to see observable and measurable behavior. You could even go as far as to say that the weekly grade and effort score is a stimulus for the student to make a choice (or response as the behaviorist state it) regarding their effort for the next week which is what the teacher wants. When you break down many of the teaching techniques in the classroom you will find them rooted in behaviorism.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Denver: Mid=continent Research for Education and Learning.