Behaviorism is primarily concerned with observable and measurable aspects of human behavior. We use behaviorism everyday, whether we are working on homework or punishing a student for not adhering to the rules.
One of the resources I explored this week was reinforcing effort and achievement using spreadsheet software. By using Microsoft excel you can create an effort chart for the students to document their actions. This explicitly teaches students about the importance of effort. I tried this last year with some low performers and they were amazed how their grades turned around once they could see how effort is tide to achievement.
I'm encouraged by the success you had with your low performing students and the spreadsheets tracking their effort. It's true that most of them have never made the connection between effort and success. One of my projects for this summer is to create an effort log that my students can use to track their progress. Unfortunately, I don't have computer access for my class on a regular basis so mine will have to be a paper and pencil version which may will not have as great an impact I'm afraid.
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