Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Analyze your students
I have found that teaching to the top is very rewarding when your students reach the top and go beyond. I have also found that with my struggling students it is very overwhelming and they often will shut down before even realizing they can get to the top. Teaching to the "top" I think and have found will look different for every student. I realized with my struggling students they need to have very small goals to build the confidence they need to try to reach the "top".
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That is a very good point! I often see and/or hear about many of the students that I work shutting down in class because it is too hard for them. It is tricky when a handful of students in each class may have difficulty understanding language concepts such as basic vocabulary, following multi-step directions, and understanding complex sentences. Keeping their confidence up in the classroom is so crucial to motivate them to keep trying.
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about "teaching to the top" is that it is not just "teaching the top" it is about modeling the top on a regular basis so that students know where they are headed, and what the top looks like. Imagine trying to climb a mountain if you had never seen one. If you did not know there was an amazing view from the top of a very clearly defined peak, you could get easily discouraged.
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