Refer ences

Character Education Partnership. (2011). 11 principles of character education. Retrieved from http://www.character.org/ more-resources/11-principles/ Dean, C., Hubbell, E., Pitler, H., Stone, B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works. (2nd ed., p. 21. United States: ASCD. Marshall, M., Weisner, K., & Cebula, M. (2004). Using a Discipline System to Promote Learning. International Journal Of Reality Therapy, 24(1), 23-33. Wong, H. K., & Wong, R. T. (1998). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Mountainview, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications. Bridgewater College

Management Strategies That Promote Effort in the Classroom

effort is a process that involves explicitly teaching students about the relationship between effort and achievement and acknowledging students efforts when they work hard to achieve (Dean, Hubbell, Pitler, Stone, 2012).
Reinforcing

Lauren Mullen Dr. Carr and Dr. Hawk Instructional Strategies Fair 2013

Marshalls Hierarchy of Social Development: Marvin Marshalls Hierarchy of Social Development can be used as a management strategy that encourages students in the classroom to display democratic behavior. The hierarchy displays four different levels of behavior, Anarchy, Bossing/Bullying, Cooperation/Conformity, and Democracy. Teachers use this hierarchy to teach students good behavior and encourage them to strive towards the Democratic level. This strategy encourages students to make an effort and work towards the Democratic behavior. This hierarchy is developed for older students, but can be modified to fit the early elementary classroom as well. Explicitly teaching students what it means to expend effort should start early. Teachers in the early elementary classroom can modify the hierarchy and use symbols rather than an explanation as well as change the terms to fit the students vocabulary. See the examples to the right. According to Harry Wongs First Day of School, management strategies are best implemented early on in the school year, if not on the very first day of school (Wong, 1998). If you are struggling with your students and receiving work that you know is not your students best efforts, try implementing Character Education and Privilege Rewards.. These strategies can be implemented at any time during the school year!

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Character Education: Many schools explicitly teach character education in their classrooms. Team up with your guidance department as well as The Character Education Partnership to teach the 11 Principles of Character Education and reinforce them in your classroom. Part of the 11 Principles of Character Education created by the Character Education Partnership includes Principle 7: The school fosters students selfmotivation (Character Education Partnership, 2011). Teaching students about effort and how to do their best work is the first step towards students that are intrinsically motivated to do the best work they can and be the best people they can be. By implementing these 11 Principles, and specifically Principle 7, we are encouraging students to expend effort in all aspects of life, and not simply just the classroom. For more information on the Character Education Partnership, visit http://www.character.org/moreresources/11-principles/ . Privilege Rewards: A simpler way to promote effort in your classroom is to use a reward system. Many teachers do this with a treasure box, or other material rewards. While this encourages students to do their best work, it reinforces the idea that students are making the effort to do their best merely for the material reward and not for the sake of the experience or because they should take pride in themselves. A better way to promote effort from students while using rewards is to use privileges as a reward rather than material items. When students show you they have given you their best efforts, reward them with more recess time, or allow them to chew gum for a few hours one day. These rewards are small, but go a long way with students. The most important thing to remember, however, is that the focus is on how the effort helps them in the long run, not the reward they receive for the effort they make.

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