Still working with my temp CT while I wait for my assigned CT to heal up enough to return to work. In the meanwhile, I've been getting know a lot of the students in my temp's classroom. It's an exceptionally bright class as far as I can tell, which is to be expected of AP students. I have been able to work more closely with the students on a regular basis more than I ever was in my previous placements. He doesn't mind if I move through the class and assist students when they need it or just answer a question for them when they are busy. I've also found myself being a bit of a motivator for keeping students on task when they wander off into their own conversations (an activity one particular group seems very prone to).
What I’ve found is that my CT has very high expectations of his students and he expects them to strive to meet these expectations at all times. Some would call his method “harsh” or “too rough,” but in my opinion it seems to be getting results. During peer grading, they are advised to be “brutally honest” in their critiques of one another in order to set a high standard that will help them later in the AP course. We are of the same mindset that going too easy on students can be very bad for them in the long run even if it achieves short term results. I’ve long held the belief that coddling students is detrimental to their academic achievement. Pushing them to their boundaries and then urging them to go even further is sometimes just what is needed. I feel that often times teachers will shoot too low to really force their students to achieve. What can one hope to accomplish when we don’t even have confidence in our students to be able to meet our expectations?
Personally, I always expect students to be able to rise up to a decent challenge and perform. I urge them to impress me with what they know and can do. Sometimes they will, but I am at least guaranteed that they will put in their best effort to try if they believe this is what is necessary to succeed. I am loathe to underestimate what a student is capable of just because they may not have been performing to standards before. There are many reason why that may be, and just assuming that a student is not capable of comprehending something is just lazy teaching. I like to set the bar high and see not only who makes it over, but who tries as hard as they can to clear it. Sometimes they might need a little boost to get up there, but I think when you implement this mode of thinking, you might be surprised at how well your students perform. Far too often I have seen teachers just give up on a group of students with certain material because they thought they weren’t ready, or would never be able to handle it. I question how they are ever to learn if no one ever tries to teach them?
Cameron,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the misfortune with your cooperating teacher; however, it sounds like you are having a good experience in your temporary classroom. In your post, you were talking about students being off task, what are ways that you use to re-motivate or keep the students on task?
You also disucss expectations for students, and I was wondering if you think there should be different expectations for the different levels of classes(such as AP, general ed., and remedial). I ask this becuase I have been in some remedial classrooms and if the expectations are too extreme the students shut down. I have not been in any AP courses, so I am looking forward to your opinion on how expecations should be different or not.
The tactic has to vary from student to student. I try to gauge at first what is keeping them from doing their work and then circumvent that obstacle in a different ay depending on the student. The group it most commonly happens with is because they like to chat about topical things. I insert myself casually into their conversation with a remark about what they are talking about before kindly reminding them that they need to complete their assignment. I don't mind if they are chatting quietly after completing all of their work, and if it is a group assignment, I encourage them to help the other students instead of distracting them.
ReplyDeleteWith achievement levels you do have to shift expectations depending on the students level and exceptionalities. I've worked with autistic students before a great deal and my first observation assignment was in a remedial class. I've found that a hefty dose of encouragement that indicates you believe they can achieve better will often urge them to keep pushing the bar, but you will have to move in smaller increments to keep from things becoming too difficult too quickly.
Cameron:
ReplyDeleteI also have students who have trouble chatting and not staying on task. I find that standing close by or putting my hand on their backs helps to get them back on task.
I would suggest that you might want to talk with your temporary CT about ways to encourage your students to stay on task. Today for instance first hour was a noisier than usual and I think it was due to TGIF. Students quieted down when I asked them, but my CT likes them a little quieter and requested them to lower their voices even lower.
Thursday we had our class in the library using the computer for completion of an assignment. I had a student who has had alot of difficulty keeping on task with his work. My CT has had a discussion with him about this problem. So I generally stay close to prod him on. But he had even more difficulty putting words down. I asked him how he generally gets ideas for writing and he stated he generally cannot. After asking several questions, I thought maybe there possibly may be a disability issue. I therefore talked this over with my CT and she is going to look into it. I felt very comfortable talking with her on this matter and she was very generous in allowing me to.
Now for students and expectations, I set the bar high and tell them I expect them to be the best they can be. I also let them know that the sky is the limit in what they can achieve.