- Students want assurance that we care about them and their success. It is very difficult to succeed in an environment where we do not feel valued and respected. We want to be known for who we are, not just another student or occupant of a seat. There is a saying that people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. This axiom is even more important for students who have struggled to learn and find success in school.
- Students want to feel that we have confidence in their ability to succeed. Few of us have the fortitude to keep trying when those in authority around us do not believe we can succeed. Interestingly, the ways in which confidence or lack thereof is communicated are many, but only one of the ways is through words. Our attention, our attitude, and our persistence all play a role in conveying our belief in the success potential of our students.
- Students want to feel commitment from their teachers. We remember people who are committed to our success. In fact, when educators communicate that they cannot be successful unless their students are successful, their influence moves to a new and even more powerful level. When students feel this level of commitment, resistance is difficult to maintain. On the other hand, students quickly discern when educators are “just mailing it in.”
- Students value experiences in which they have a hand and feel responsibility. It may be designing a major project, an opportunity to plan an event, or choosing a learning path. When students experience shifts in learning that lead to greater ownership and responsibility, often a “light goes on” that reveals a passion, builds confidence, and uncovers a talent to be developed. These experiences can drive the direction of a life.
- Students recall experiences that awakened insights, connections, and perspectives. These experiences go beyond learning specific content and mastering discrete skills. When we introduce learning that helps students to better understand the world and make sense of what they see and experience in life, the impact can be lasting and life-changing.
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In Your Corner, Student Learning
Five Things for Which You Will Be Remembered Most
We do not teach for today, this week, or even this year. Learning is not for the unit assessment or even the state standardized test. Of course, these and other progress and performance markers are important. They give us information to determine if students are grasping concepts as they are introduced and developing skills that move learning forward.
Whether we are teaching in a face-to-face, hybrid, or remote setting, how we approach our work and the experiences we create matter. Our students will take with them important knowledge and skills, but the impact we have on their lives and the things they will remember and value about their time with us will not be found in the content we taught. Rather, they will reside in how we make them feel and the strengths we nurture in them as people and learners.
Think about your experience as a learner. What do you remember most about educators who had the greatest influence on your life? These same feelings and experiences will be treasured by the students whose lives you are shaping today.
Chances are high that much of what you recall and value most falls into five categories:
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management, Teacher Learning
A True Story With a Positive Ending
A celebrated high school teacher of the year and candidate for the master teacher award in her state began this school year teaching her students in a concurrent environment. As such, she was teaching remote students at the same time she was teaching in-person students. Every day for the first two weeks of school she went home in tears. She was certain that she was failing with every student and she had totally lost the confidence that had been a hallmark of her teaching prior to the pandemic. She even started looking for another job.
Then, she decided to do something very simple. She said to her students, “Am I bad at this? I don’t think I’m doing a good enough job. You have to tell me how I can do better.”
Her students immediately replied to her, “Oh no, you’re not bad at this. We’re all struggling. We’re just happy we have you as our teacher and that you are hanging in there with us!”
And it was their comments that lifted her out of her teaching “funk.”
She went on to tell her students that she would need their help every day moving forward. She explained that there would most likely be days when a lesson wouldn’t work, or a new strategy would feel awkward and perhaps would not be as effective as something else they had done. But it was still important that they keep trying new things and new ways of learning so that everyone could find a way to be successful. Therefore, it was more important than ever that she receive their candid feedback and ideas for improvement.
The lesson: Don’t be afraid to admit to students how you are feeling. And don’t be afraid to make yourself vulnerable—or to say, “Let’s figure this out together.” This is new territory for everyone. Students are feeling as uneasy in this environment as we are—perhaps more so. And, if we ask them, they can help us get better at this new way of teaching. When we engage students in this way, they are more likely to lift us and our instruction up and be more engaged themselves.
Here are some simple questions you can ask students to answer at the end of a lesson or at the end of the week to reinforce the importance of working together on the common goal of making the learning experience better.
How do you think the lesson went today? What ideas do you have for how we might make my instruction and your learning even better?
What are the three best aspects of your learning this week? What made your learning experience effective?
What are two areas in which you struggled to learn this week? How might I help you be more successful?
What learning strategies worked best for you this week? Where do you think we should focus to help you broaden and strengthen your learning strategies?
What would you like to see us do more of? What might we do less of?
Do you need a dose of inspiration yourself? We suggest the movie Freedom Writers. Do you have a story you would like to share? Email it to InYourCorner@masterteacher.com and we may post it on our In Your Corner website.
In Your Corner, Student Learning
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Leadership and Change Management
In Your Corner, Supporting Families
Share Your Tips & Stories
Share your story and the tips you have for getting through this challenging time. It can remind a fellow school leader of something they forgot, or your example can make a difficult task much easier and allow them to get more done in less time. We may publish your comments.
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We can attempt to shut down disruptive student behavior with quick admonishments and directives, but this approach is more likely to prolong such behavior than prevent or extinguish it.
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