The Needs of Students

Continuing to respond to the needs of our students is a must for teachers as we enter the classrooms each year. Each student is different from one another, and each student is relying on our support during their schooling. Some will rely on teachers more than others, but it is important as a teacher to bring it every class. When considering the literacy needs of our students in our classroom, we must consider the learning environment we are creating. Our students need our help, and we need to pursue to be intentional on all the details in the classroom. The important thing for our students during the time that they spend in the classroom is that they are motivated through various activities that are created in the classroom, and the environment for them breeds success even amongst the shortcomings they may experience.

The environment within our classrooms is incredibly important as we consider the time that our students spend at the schools on a daily basis. Those are long days, so even the little things as they walk into the room what they are seeing, to the activities they are doing, it is important to engage them. It is also good to get the students in on responding to our learning environment. Allowing the students to engage in the process allows them to not only express their desires, but also consider where they seem to find success (Kubanyiova, 2006) It also allows student to contribute to the ways in which they find the most effective for them through their learning process. Obviously most students at this age enjoy group work. It is a good chance to catch up on what is going on that day or chitchat, but allowing students in on the process can think intently on what this would look like in their ideal classroom. Obviously students are going to desire to have this, but it is important as the teacher to demonstrate how this works. And it also comes down to what the group work. There is really ineffective work that can be assigned as group work, so it is important for the teacher to consider what they are assigning as group work in the classroom. I have been able to learn this first hand.

As I touched on a little bit, it is important as we consider the activities that we are assigning for our students, it is important for them to be meaningful. Motivation and if the tasks are meaningful have to work together (Fisher, Frey, 2010). We can easily lose the students if there is only group work assigned (Fisher, Frey, 2010). Even just reflecting on group work that has been assigned in my life, group work was in a lot of ways, a way to get out of work unfortunately. Our students have no motivation, and in turn miss out on the learning experience that they can engage in through group work. This goes with anything though in our classrooms as we consider what we are using for our assignments for our students. If they are not engaging and the student can somehow make meaning out of it, then what is the point of even having the assignment in the first place? In our project, we looked a lot at “Bell Ringers” as a set-up for the upcoming assignments for our students. If we can some make the “light bulb go off” in their heads by connecting say a bell ringer to their activities in the classroom, then they can be motivated. They are making those connections, and seeing the light bulb click in our student’s minds is AMAZING.

I also think it is important as you are making tasks that are meaningful and motivational, and if there is failure, for there not to be a de-motivational attitude towards the students. Through our methods of teaching and our assignments, students have to be willing to take risk and be good with correcting things (Malouff, 2008). It is apart of learning and it is not a setback. Mistakes are going to happen, but it does not define them as a student. For example, baseball players make a career off of failing. A great average in the MLB is .300. So every 10 at-bats, you are getting a hit 3 times. That sounds pretty bad in terms of statistics, but in this case they are successful. They have had to fail to get to where they are, and they still mess up. Relating it back to the classroom, as the teacher, it is important that we are always motivating our students based on their disciplinary needs. We have to be great motivators.

When it pertains to the disciplinary needs of our students, they are going to be different. As teachers, we have to be flexible, build relationships with our students, and go the extra mile to develop a meaningful task for our students. During my instruction in the classroom, it is important to know that the students are going to be very different from one another. I have to be willing to consider each and every need in order to create the meaningful and motivational environment that we desire.

Sources:

Kubanyiova, M. (2006). Developing a motivational teaching practice in EFL teachers in Slovakia: Challenges of promoting teacher change in EFL contexts. TESL-EJ, 10(2), n2.

Malouff, J. M., Rooke, S. E., Schutte, N. S., Foster, R. M., & Bhullar, N. (2008). Methods of Motivational Teaching. Online Submission.

Frey, N., & Fisher, D. (2010). Motivation requires a meaningful task. English Journal, 30–36.

Motivation. (n.d.). Retrieved December 06, 2017, from https://www.ted.com/topics/motivation

Bartolome, A. (2017, June 02). Business Mentor: Nurturing kids to become entrepreneurs. Retrieved December 06, 2017, from http://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/03/17/business-mentor-nurturing-kids-to-become-entrepreneurs