Marzano Chapter 4 Reinforcing Effort

This chapter really struck me as interesting and important. I realized that I need to spend time explaining and exemplifying "effort belief" in my students. The text mentioned that, "simply demonstrating that added effort will pay off in terms of enhanced achievement actually increases student achievement." Our school uses progress monitoring graphs in math fact practice and reading fluency practice. The students chart their times and scores daily, and often get excited as they see their progress over time. It occurred to me that I need to reinforce the idea that the progress they are making is because of the effort they are putting in. I need to explicitly teach and exemplify the connection between effort and achievement in my students many times daily. I decided to try something a little different in my classroom after reading this chapter. I have in the past used tickets to reward good behavior, hard work, on task behavior etc, but found that students are often disappointed at the end of the week when I draw for prizes if they don't win. I decided to create an effort card that I placed on their desks. I sign a square on the card when they have shown that they have put forth effort. I sign for handing in all assignments per week, achieving 100% on any test, doing extra research at home on a topic, going above and beyond on an assignment etc. When they have filled their card, they automatically get to choose a prize from the box I used to use for ticket drawings. This way it isn't based on luck, or probability, but rather on effort. I am excited about using it year round with my students in the future.