Confidence is Key: Student Edition

I often wonder how we can get students who may feel uncomfortable speaking in class to become active participants in the classroom. How can you reverse what could be years a student's feelings of inadequacy in regards to his or her academic ability. While doing some research on this topic, I came across a very telling quote: "It is much easier to be the class clown or the bully than it is to be the student who can't read well." This made me think about how many issues with behavior in the classroom can stem from a student's feelings of inferiority. How, then, can we increase a student's confidence to the point where they WANT to be active participants in the classroom? Students don't participate because they lack confidence. It's as simple as that. Maybe someone disagrees? I just feel that students who possess this academic confidence are also the students that you will find are self-regulated learners.  It goes hand in hand.

Encouragement and positive reinforcement are two ways to do this. The more success a student experiences, the more their confidence will begin to rise. I've seen this multiple times in the classroom over the course of this semester. A student may not answer a question correctly, but the teacher takes what that student said and acknowledges a positive aspect of the response, making the student feel as if they added something positive to the discussion.

Group work can be another way to build student confidence. Let's face it - students feel more comfortable talking to their peers in the more personal environment that group work typically creates. If students begin to see success in this environment, it is likely that their desire to participate in class will increase.

Any other tips or advice regarding this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Confidence is Key

As my opportunity to teach at District C nears, I'm giving more consideration to how I can increase my ability to convey a strong presence in front of the classroom. As was mentioned last week, upon entering the classroom, students already have certain expectations based on the teacher and the classroom environment. So within a matter of seconds, your students may have already set their expectations for the class, simply based on your body language.

This is where being confident comes into play. Let's face it, if students sense that their teacher is lacking confidence, it tells them that they will be able dictate what happens in the classroom, increasing the odds that they'll begin pushing to see how much they can get away with. Aside from the fact that confidence decreases the possibility of disruptive students, it also increases the likelihood that your students will be receptive to you. Think about it - if you are being taught by someone who is constantly looking down and avoiding eye contact or saying "uhm" or "uh," you probably won't be as engaged as you would be if the class was being taught by someone who had good posture and constantly made eye contact.

While it may seem like I'm stating the obvious, I think new teachers forget how important body language is, and they let their lack of confidence/nervousness dictate the lesson. As we discussed last week, new teachers may find themselves following the rigid lesson plan they have created, for nothing more than to avoid a situation that they're not prepared for. This ruins the educational experience for the student. In my opinion, confidence = better teaching.

Apps for Teaching

The digital age is upon us, with technology more readily available now than ever before. Because students are growing up in this digital age, it is paramount that teachers know how to incorporate technology into the classroom. If we are tying to promote student engagement, it seems only right that content and technology should go side by side.

For as little as few dollars, you can purchase content-rich applications for ipods, ipads and iphones that can help promote student engagement while serving a real purpose. I found many apps that I believe can be successfully incorporated into an ELA classroom. One such app that I came across is called "The Literary Analysis Guide."

This application helps students interpret different forms of literature. The app consists of three wheels -one for each of the aforementioned categories. Each wheel consists of many subcategories integral to each of the three forms. For example, under poetry you will find imagery, form and figures of speech. Students can click on one of these terms and a description will come up, which includes the definition, examples and further questions that can be asked for each topic.

 This is a great reference tool for students and at $3.99, it is inexpensive. Also, because it is used as a reference tool, having it on one "class ipad" makes complete sense and is very practical.

Like I said, this is only one of many apps that are created for students and teachers. Anyone have any other app or technology suggestions?

Where's The Creativity?

Imagine a world where students are free to learn in any way they want, a world where traditional grades are irrelevant. Students explore content the way they want to explore it. They test their skills doing assessments that they feel a connection towards. In this scenario, students learn on their own terms. There is a structure and there are guidelines, but it is largely student centered and students are assessed based on their personal improvement.

OK. Now imagine a world where grades matter and what students learn is largely irrelevant. It's all about "making the grade." In this world, creative students face the risk of failing, so you'll see assignments that are rather mundane, because there is no reason to take risks when something you can put together in an hour will get you a C+. And hey! That's passing, right? Sadly, you don't need to imagine this. Just walk into most high schools in the United States and you can see it first hand. 

In this world the future looks bright, doesn't it? A bunch of men and women who lack creativity, the great thinkers of tomorrow unable to blossom because public schools are valuing grades over learning. 

What can be done to change? Sadly, as long as we have a traditional grading system some of these issues will be in place. But we can begin to change the culture of learning by pushing our students to stretch their creative muscles, creating an environment where creativity is rewarded and not punished. 

And then we have. . . .

ungraded writing!

Create short, fun writing assignments that when completed are rewarded with homework passes, candy, and whatever else high school students like these days. If we begin to change their beliefs regarding graded assignments, specifically writing, through these ungraded activities, we may be able to change how they think about writing. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, grades will be there - they have to, but we need to break our students out of the confines these boundaries put them in.