3 Teaching Adjustments that will Enhance Student Progress!
I’ve always wondered why I would see student athletes perform in such a phenomenal way on the field, and yet, once we take those same athletes and place them into a classroom to teach math, or science, they perform so poorly.
Do you think it is because they are simply not made for the classroom? Are they only made to be successful athletes, but are incapable of excelling academically?
Well, that is certainly not the case for every student. In fact, I believe that most students can do well academically if the environment is provided for that kind of success.
Here are 3 Teaching adjustments you can make today to improve student progress!
Be aware of YOUR attitude
I cannot tell you how many times I have watched and sat on the phone with teachers or homeschool parents who express how frustrated they are when they are teaching their students. Can teaching be frustrating at times? Yes! But I urge them to consider that if they are frustrated, chances are, the student was frustrated long before you noticed that you were.
Learners can pick up on the negative attitude or frustrations you have as you teach. And guess what? If you do not take hold of it, it will only go down hill from there. So, before you start the lesson with your learner, you can do a self-check. What are you feeling? Why are you feeling this way? Are the thoughts you are telling yourself helpful, or hurtful?
What’s the point here? Its always easier for both teacher and learner when the atmosphere is not filled with frustration.
Think of teaching as a Conversation, Not a lecture
You may not be able to remember all the details of the last lecture you sat through, but I bet that you can remember a whole lot more regarding a conversation you recently had. When we engage our students in a continuous conversation, it increases the chances that they will remember the content that we are trying to get them to understand. How do we do this? Here is a simple method,
State the idea: For example: We are going to talk about perimeter today
Ask a question that helps them to link the topic to something they already know: For example: Have you heard the word “perimeter” before? If I say that I walked the perimeter of the park, do you think that means I walked through the middle of the park, or around the outside of the park?
Guide them to Establish the definition of the term: For example, ask the student, “if I needed you to give me a definition for the perimeter, what would you tell me? or how would you describe it to me?
Introduce the objective: For example, ok, great! So now that we know what the perimeter is, today we are going to focus on calculating the perimeter of different objects.
Notice that this approach involved quite a bit of conversation between the teacher and the student. Therefore, wherever possible, aim to have a conversation, rather than give a lecture.
ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE, ENCOURAGE!
Sprinkle words of encouragement and motivation throughout your lesson. Affirm students when they did well, or even acknowledge who they taught you something you did not know! I cannot tell you how empowered students begin to feel when you say “Oh wow, you taught me something today. I’ve never thought of it that way”. Say, “you’ve done a really good job!”, or “I knew you could do it!”
Motivation is a great motivator! :)
You may be surprised, but little phrases make a big difference!
Now, I have a confession here. Are you ready?
I struggled with motivating other for a long time. In fact, I had to practice it. You see, I grew up in an environment that placed a huge amount of emphasis on improvement and little time motivating. So, if you have to look in the mirror and practice motivating phrases, go ahead. You can even look online for top motivating phrases for students!
I know! It sounds so corny, but it works!
These 3 tips will certainly enhance student progress right away!
Deanja N.
