Teachers Help Students Make Smart Academic Choices - Essay Sample

Introduction

The main objective of teachers has been to help students in learning how to make smart academic choices. As a way of aiding the students in developing good decision-making skills, they have been involved in the process so that they also learn to think for themselves. There have been opportunities for decision making frequently, although they are limited so as not to overwhelm the students. At the end of every week, students get a chance to reflect on the academic decisions they made, together with how it worked out. Additionally, students are supposed to create charts that help in reflecting on the pros and cons of different academic decisions.

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Effective Strategies for Building Trust in Students

When students trust their teacher, there can be a dramatic change in their classroom behavior since there is personal support for navigating day to day hurdles. One strategy to build this trust is by listening to the students actively (King, 2017). Proper listening will help in learning about their experiences, which eventually builds their trust. Additionally, asking questions about themselves will make students feel that an individual has an interest in whatever they are saying, which is a great way of building trust (King, 2017). Furthermore, since these are ELL students, acknowledging their feelings will help build trust. Empathy should be used to make students feel that they are not alone and that someone understands them. Also, teachers should let students know them by telling their personal lives (King, 2017). When the students know about their teacher’s good and bad experiences, they see them as real individuals who can be trusted.

Challenges When You are not Familiar with the Students’ Languages and Cultures

As a teacher, not knowing the student’s language as well as cultures pose various challenges within the teaching process. Firstly, there is a challenge of being misunderstood; thus, they are oversensitive to student’s feelings to avoid offending. Secondly, in some cultures, gender roles are different, and thus, boys are unwilling to help in some classroom tasks that are left for women. There is thus a conflict between culture and behavior. To overcome these challenges, there should be bridging of the culture gap through field trips that will allow the class to interact with other people (Chen & Yang, 2015)). Also, some lessons should involve native and non-native instructors to great balance. Students should also be invited to participate in cultural discussions.

How to Expand Student’s Engagement in Instructional Assessment

Student’s engagement can be expanded in various ways. Firstly, it can be achieved through the concept of relevance, where connections are made to create the “need to know” perspective among the students (Bae & Kokka, 2016). Secondly, through authenticity, tasks which promote realistically as well as problem-solving processes are created for students to solve. The authentic tasks make students engage in scientific discourse (Bae & Kokka, 2016). Additionally, through autonomy, students are given a chance to choose what and how to learn, which increases and improves their engagement (Bae & Kokka, 2016). Also, promoting collaboration among the students will increase their engagement. Higher-order thinking skills and self-assessment can also expand a student’s engagement (Bae & Kokka, 2016). Differential instruction increases student engagement by incorporating instructional activities in class on the basis of the student's learning characteristics (Bender, 2017).

Kinds of Student Self-Assessments to Use with ELL Students and Rubric Modification

Self -assessment refers to the feedback that students give themselves. It includes using rubrics with the list of success criteria (Bae & Kokka, 2016). Also, graphic organizers are used for student self-assessment where ideas are visually presented, which will also help in their metacognitive development. Additionally, time management is a crucial aspect of self-assessment. Self-checks are also encouraged to remind the students of going over their works (Bae & Kokka, 2016). As for the ELL students, a rubric can be modified to contain a level or section of speaking assessment and writing conferences (Bae & Kokka, 2016). It can also include the English terminologies learned. For the graphic organizers, the rubric may be modified so as the students can use organizers that utilize words in elucidating meaning instead of using symbols.

How to Begin Easing Students into Becoming Independent Thinkers and Doers

Students may be integrated into becoming independent thinkers as well as doers by first, making learning active instead of passive. Instead of just lecturing explanations from books, student’s experiences are used, and before giving them answers, they are offered an opportunity to think on their own. As a result, a student’s thought process is engaged, which helps them become independent thinkers and doers (Pesce, 2020). Secondly, students are then involved directly in existing adult activities, for example, an instructional leadership team or special task forces to make them not only thinkers but also doers (Pesce, 2020). Some activities for only the students may be set, for example, peer mediation group or advisory board, where they can make decisions based on their independent reasoning.

References

Bae, S., & Kokka, K. (2016). Student Engagement in Assessments: What Students and Teachers Find Engaging. Stanford, CA. Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education and Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity. https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/student-engagement-assessments-final.pdf

Bender, W. N. (2017). 20 Strategies for Increasing Student Engagement. Learning Sciences. https://www.learningsciences.com/media/catalog/product//2/0/20ise_lookinside.pdf

Chen, D., & Yang, X. (2015). Culture as the core: Challenges and possible solutions in integrating culture into foreign language teaching. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 7(1), 168-177. https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/be4a/43178b2e965caf929569acd50a5b6c7165ac.pdf

King, I. (2017, November 13). 8 Trust-Building Strategies to Improve Student Classroom Behavior. Kickboard https://www.kickboardforschools.com/blog/post/pbis-positive-behavior-interventions-supports/8-trust-building-strategies-that-improve-student-classroom-behavior/

Pesce, C. (2020). ESL Teachers Ask: How Can I Increase Student Engagement? Busy Teacher https://busyteacher.org/20365-student-engagement-how-to-increase.html