Reinforcing+Effort

 ==It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer. ~Albert Einstein ==  Image from: [|http://www.gettyimages.com] =__Strategy:__ = >>
 * __Reinforcing Effort __
 * This teaching strategy pertains to a psychological aspect of education, namely the students' understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement and their perception of self worth.
 * An instructor faces the challenge of deciding how and when to give praise and/or rewards. "Students who understand that added effort increases achievement will actually experience gains in their achievement" (Craske, 1985; Wilson & Linville, 1982).  http://www.netc.org/focus/strategies/rein.php  
 * __ Technology: __ **
 * __Hardware__
 * **Classroom Implementation:** Digital cameras-"Digital cameras increase student self-concept as high achievers." http://www.netc.org/focus/examples/projec.php Photos of students and their work (such as a science fair experiment or a watercolor painting) will serve as a references to their projects and efforts.
 * **Rationale:** When projects are displayed for all to see, students receive reinforcement from other people besides the teacher and are reminded of their work instead of just receiving a grade on a piece of paper. If they didn't do their best, they might quickly throw away that paper and put the experience behind them. By using the digital camera they will either be proud of all their hard work or see that they could do better with more effort.
 * __Software__
 * **Classroom Implementation:** Excel- These 6th graders will make a spreadsheet such as the one found at: http://www.allkindsofminds.org/activity.aspx?id=12
 * **Rationale:** This activity will require students to gauge the amount of effort they put into their classes. They may also include a column to show their grades which might point out to the student that the more effort they put into something, the more successful they will be.


 * __Web Environments:__
 * **Classroom Implementation:** Blog-Students will create a blog in which they keep track of their efforts and reflect on their achievements. Teachers will also set up student blogs to teach about effort. Different subject areas will be included such as history where students research presidents and write about the efforts that one president put forth and the goals he achieved.
 * **Rationale:** These web environments and the lessons they are used for actually teach the relationship between effort and achievement.
 * __Web as Resource:__
 * **Classroom Implementation:** http://www.online-literature.com/horatio-alger/ Students will go to The Literature Network to read about Horatio Alger. At this site students have access to fiction, short stories, and poetry written by this author. Students will create book reports showcasing the theme of effort in his stories.
 * **Rationale:** The Internet provides many easy to use resources that otherwise would not be available to students. Through the use of literature, students will learn how effort is rewarded.

** __Challenge:__ **
One challenge teachers encounter is reinforcing the efforts of non-english speaking or hearing impaired students. Using the digital camera to display students working hard and the resulting projects, turns what could have been an audio only reinforcement into a visual one for all to understand. Using the computer to read stories about the rewards of effort and writing about it on a blog also helps these students.