Comments on: Helping students find their way to success

By: kontan

kontan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:07:33 +0000

Thanks for the reply. I'm in a new school and finding the typical challenges are worse than normal. It seems that I'm doing all the right things, but am just not seeing the progress yet. Love your site. .-= kontan´s last blog ..Poor planning =-.

By: Elona Hartjes

Elona Hartjes — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:59:00 +0000

Kontan,
I find the same challenge. My students do extremely poor on tests. I now have them create review sheets of the material that they are expected to know prior to the test. Usually one 8 by 11 page. I allow them to use this page while writing the test. Other teachers do this too so it is an accepted practice. I find that this helps reduce the stress level for the kids. I also give a small mark for the review sheet that counts as part of their test mark to encourage them to do it- 5%. Some kids still don’t bother. But, I figure I can only do so much.

I also have a mini quiz almost everyday ( 3 – 5 questions) on the previous day’s work. I find this encourages most kids cause they get feed back really quickly. They need timely feedback frequently. Most kids want to do well I also call parents about kids progress to tell them the good news and the behaviour that is preventing their kids from doing his or her best.

I also change the seating plan frequently so that kids are in a spot that encourages them to focus and not get distracted.

No doubt about it, some classes are more of a challenge than others. You can only do so much because much is not in your control. I tell myself, tomorrow is another day and things will probably better. I try to remember to focus on the kids that are doing well too and not just spend all my time and energy on the kids who aren’t.

By: kontan

kontan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:08:50 +0000

OK, so I am doing this and feeling a little more encouraged and less like I am fixing the numbers. What about testing? They seem to know the material in reviews, but they have NO testing ability. I'm trying, but time is against me! Our school requires test grades to be 70% of their grade. We are setting them up to fail! So frustrated. .-= kontan´s last blog ..Poor planning =-.

By: dcollins

dcollins — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:57:48 +0000

Excellent idea. Having worked with many at-risk kids at my alternative school I thought my staff and I have come across everything. But this is great! Thanks, I'm going to see how we can use this tomorrow. .-= dcollins´s last blog ..Philosophy and "The Big Picture" =-.

By: Brian Collinson

Brian Collinson — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:03:21 +0000

I appreciate your blog, Elona, and I found this post on the creative ways that you approach classroom motivation very engaging. Sounds like your students really need someone who is on their side and you have learned how to be that person! Very thought-provoking and full of a great energy!