Classroom Strategies that Work...Effort & Recognition

We are a third of the way through our Marzano's classroom strategies that work and today I want to share some ideas for recognizing effort and providing recognition. According to Marzano, "students who believe the amount of effort they put into a task increases their achievement actually do better." The trouble is students do not inherently know the relationship between their effort and their success. So they need opportunities to see that relationship, perhaps by tracking the amount of effort to the achievement level.

Hello technology, ready to help!

Google Sites: Our county will be moving to student accounts within our Gaston Google Apps account beginning next semester. Think about using Google sites to allow them to create portfolios. There are basically three ways to use sites for portfolios: storage of digital work, single space for storage/reflection together, and then as a showcase in which the learner chooses things that really show off their learning. The thought processes behind the last two choices will help students make connections between effort and the results. A student blog, such as Kidblog or Edublog could serve a similar purpose.

Edmodo, a secure social networking site designed for teachers and students (think of it as as an educational Facebook), added a new feature a year or so ago allowing you to award badges. What a great incentive! Students love to earn the badges and again they will make the connection between effort and the recognition provided once they have the badge. Edmodo makes it easy to award the badge to the student by simply visiting the profile of that student and choose "award badge" button. You will have the option of creating your own badges or those from the Edmodo community. As a GCS teacher, you have access to Edmodo within our Edmodo domain. Just ask your Instructional Technology Facilitator for the school code.

I know one of my teachers' favorite is ClassDojo. Teachers use ClassDojo to build good behaviors and learning habits. Kids love it because they get instant feedback, have ways to earn points, and have cool avatars.

Check out these tools and please leave comments if you have any to add!