As teachers, we’ve got our students all
figured out, right? Well, maybe not
completely! Getting to know your
students on a deeper, individual level definitely requires a bit more time and
patience, but once you understand each other (Yep, they need to know you,
too!), chances are you will see an increase in motivation, effort, and growth. Before we discuss strategies on how you can
get to know your students, let’s first think about the types of students we are
all familiar with...
1. The Natural Learner- These students
find that learning comes easy to them. They participate in whole group
settings, complete their assignments on time and as expected, and they usually
don’t challenge us with negative behavior. They understand the importance of a
good education and try to do their best.
2. The Complainer- I probably don’t need
to describe these kiddos, but if you’re lucky enough to have a Complainer-free
classroom, then this is for you. The Complainers are known for their whining
(without the accompanying cheese). These students will whine about just about
anything, including assignments, being chosen to speak in front of the class,
or being partnered up with a peer they don’t truly know. Sometimes they will
even whine before they know what is happening, simply out of badly formed
habits. Too often, these students do not reach their potential, because they
are too focused on what they don’t want to do before they even get the chance
to do it. Complicated, right?!
3. The Silent Threat- You are likely to
tread lightly around these students, as they tend to remain very quiet. In
fact, you may not even realize that you don’t call on them to participate as
much as your other pupils. Well, these
students may have pulled the wool over your eyes, because they know THE
answer. Yep, that answer that you have
been trying to elicit from your students for a very long 3.5 minutes. You have restated the same question in 19
different ways, in hopes that just one student would answer it correctly. Well, The Silent Threat must know that this
is confidential information, because why else would they not share it with
their peers?
4. The Eager Beaver- The Eager Beaver
lacks a very valuable virtue…patience. When engaged in whole
or small group settings, these students lack the ability to allow any other
student to respond or even think about a response. Otherwise known as “The Blurter”, The Eager
Beaver is full of energy and doesn’t take the time to think about the fact that
other students also need to learn.
Instead, in a state of oblivion, these students use their thievery
skills to steal the learning from their peers.
5. The Gifted- Ahhhh…The Gifted Ones. When these students enter your classroom, you
often learn more from them than they do from you. The conversations you engage in with these
students could go on for hours, and they are often the first ones done with
their assignments and begging to soak up more knowledge of any sort. The Gifted Ones are also known for stumping
you with questions you have no idea how to answer, leaving you feeling a bit
self-conscious. So how do you challenge
these students who challenge you so frequently?
6. The Procrastinator- “I’ll start that
in a second”, “I’ll get it done after lunch.”,
“I can just do it in the morning before school.”, “Ms. Gray, I didn’t have time to
finish my work. Could I please have more time?”
Enough said, right?
7. The Spotlight Kiddo- The Spotlight
Kiddos have many strengths. Some of them
are charmers, always having a kind word to say about you, at just the perfect
moment. Others are quite humorous and
LOVE to tell a joke in the middle of a whole group lesson. And some Spotlight Kiddos are always in
agreement with other students with what seems to be very similar reasoning. These students are often in the spotlight,
but not because they want to be. The
Spotlight Kiddos do not want the light shone upon them, because they may not
fully understand what is being discussed or learned, and they lack the
confidence to own it in front of their peers.
These are your lower achieving students who choose to use their
spotlight as a shield to protect themselves from possibly being discovered.
8. The Defeated- The Defeated students
are a challenge. They believe that they
cannot do it and there is no point in doing it, so they choose not to do it. Somewhere along their educational pathway,
these students developed a lack of confidence, animosity, and a fixed
mindset. Most likely, these students
have experienced teachers, family members, and/or peers who did not believe in
them, and now they do not believe in themselves.
So how do we motivate each of these
diverse learners? Here are some tips to
assist you in connecting with and motivating these students.
1. The Natural Learner- These students
love to please you and are often the students who offer you a helping hand
during lunch, recess, or before and after school. It is very important that you allow them to
help you, whether it is stapling papers, filing graded work, or using their
organization skills in your classroom library.
The Natural Learners gain a sense of importance and pride, knowing that
they were able to make your task list a bit shorter. Academically, these students tend to do well
when pushed into leadership roles within the classroom and/or school
community. Provide The Natural Learners
with small group leadership roles, call them up to the board to teach a math
problem to their peers, or encourage them to speak up more in class (Natural
Learners aren’t always the most talkative students). Try out these free Cooperative Learning Group Role Badges to encourage these learners to be "directors" during small group learning.
2. The Complainers- Reaching these
students academically may take more time than you would like, and their whining
can drive you crazy in the meantime, but be patient. The Complainers just need to believe more in
themselves, which is often not an easy task.
The stem of their whining could be deeply rooted, but once they feel
success on tasks they regularly complain about, you will begin to see a softer
side of these students. The key is to continually
build them up with compliments about the smallest successes and/or growth. For example, if the student complains about
elaborating on their ideas, then celebrate them when they tell you a bit more
information about anything. If they
expand upon a story from their weekend, a show they watched, or an event that
happened at recess, then celebrate them.
I also like to joke with these students when they do something they
whined about in the past, and I always mention the fact that I knew they could
do it, and now they know they can do it.
3. The Silent Threat often just needs
some encouragement in being in the spotlight.
These students sometimes fear being “wrong”, instead of understanding
that learning comes from conversations and the inclusion of both examples and
non-examples. As you encourage your
entire population of students to take risks, and you praise them for doing so,
your Silent Threats will begin to come out of their shells. These students could also benefit from longer
wait time when you call on them. Let them know that you are not in a hurry
(even if you are), so they have time to think. Be patient and they will
surprise you.
4.
Our Eager Beavers, or Blurters, need kind reminders that they are not
the only students in our classrooms. These
students long for your attention, so give it to them. I like to make it a habit to meet with these
students prior to the start of instruction each day to ask them how their morning
is going, compliment them on previous work, or tell them a joke, and I always
make sure to sneak in a “blurting awareness” challenge statement, such as “I’m
looking forward to seeing how well you listen to your peers today”, or “I’m
challenging you to not blurt during whole group instruction today”. You may also want to develop some sort of
silent visual cue that could assist these students in remembering not to blurt,
such as scratching your right ear, or winking at them. In addition, you could also use speaking
tokens, in which you give these students each 3 tokens, and they are only
allowed to speak 3 times during whole group instruction, making them be
thoughtful of what they want to say, and when they want to say it.
5.
Challenging your Gifted Ones is easier than you may think. Usually these students are yearning to know
more, and most of the time they develop questions during instructional
time. Have these students keep a list of
questions that pop up in their minds, and then provide them opportunities to
research those questions. Give them a
device, such as an IPad or laptop, to complete their research on, and then give
them their choice of how they would like to apply their new knowledge. Students could create a digital presentation,
one-pager (i.e. wanted poster, brochure, etc.), a presentation board, a speech,
a rap, or any other form of application that appeals to them. The power of this enrichment activity is in
the choice, and students may work on it when they are finished with their
required assignments. This will not take
a lot of time on your part, but just have an awareness that your Gifted Ones
will benefit from this enrichment. Oh,
and don’t forget to allow them to share their new found knowledge with their
peers, as it’s a win-win for everyone!
6.
The Procrastinator is probably one of your most frustrating students,
but one of the easiest to mold. These
students need to set goals with you…daily, weekly, and more long-term.
Meet with these students briefly, after providing students with an
assignment or their daily work. Using a
system for recording goals that works for your students and classroom
management (i.e. planner, sticky notes, goal planning graphic organizer, etc),
have your Procrastinators record their daily goals, and then check in with them
at the end of class to view their progress.
I also like to cruise by them during class to remind them that I am
stalking them! J Hold
them accountable for any unfinished work, by having them do it for homework, or
coming in at recess, before or after school.
Meet with them periodically to set weekly and long-term goals. It is
essential that you hold them accountable for completing their work on time and
that you check in with them on their longer goals. This consistency will begin to break their
bad habits in procrastination, and their grades will probably improve
drastically, and in turn build up their confidence level.
7.
Assisting your Spotlight Kiddos in building confidence prior to whole
group instruction is key to their academic growth. A day or two before engaging in whole group
content instruction, provide slower learners with the text you will use, a
vocabulary list of words that are essential to the lesson, and/or a video to
watch which will build some background knowledge for these students. You may give them this work during a center,
as a replacement for homework, or use it in a small group instructional setting
with you as their support. This strategy makes the content more accessible for
students, and when you begin the whole group lesson, you will notice your
Spotlight Kiddos wanting to participate more, academically, instead of being
silly and disrupting learning. It
literally builds their confidence and sets them up for success!
8.
Your Defeated students NEED to know that you love them and believe in
them. At the moment, you may also feel
defeated with these students, as they are definitely some of the tougher
students we need to educate. First, take
a breath, and remember that you became a teacher to make a positive impact on
all students, so you’ve got this! Now,
these students will take a bit more of your time, but that’s ok, and the benefits
will be worth it. It may also help you
to remember that you may be the ONE person in these students’ lives that
believes in them, so it is important that they know that. Start by finding time to have a one-on-one
chat with them. Let them know you love and
believe in them and that you are a team.
In this meeting, make a promise to each other that you will both work
hard towards the success of the student, and set some measurable, yet
attainable goals. And remember to say at
least one positive comment to your Defeated Ones each day, whether it be about
academics, their awesome new haircut, or the kind deed they did for their
friend. The purpose is to build up
confidence in these students, so that they grow from having a fixed mindset to
a growth mindset, and start believing that hard work pays off. Try these free Teacher Love Notes, as a means of showing your belief in and love for them. You will probably continue to struggle with
these students throughout the school year, but keep giving them the love and
support they deserve. I could go on
forever on strategies to use with your Defeated Ones, but I’ll have to save
that for another post…stay tuned.
Knowing your students and how to
motivate each of them will have a great impact on their success and your classroom
community, so make those connections and watch them grow.
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