Successes
It is logical to think that intentional attempts to bond personally with one’s students can only improve a classroom. In this study, these attempts have coincided with trends of increased student grades and increased participation. The interactions themselves have led to teacher insights into student mentalities that allowed for responsive instruction.
At the end of the third quarter, which coincided with the end of my student teaching, three of the five focus students were demonstrating significant academic improvement. Candice had a grade of 78, Derek had an 83, and Harriet had a 90. These were all the highest grades that these students have had this year. The target students were also turning in more work than in the past. For instance, only two of the five (Jessica and Phillip) turned in an important second quarter essay assignment prior to this study. However, during this study four of them (all except Jessica) did turn in their third quarter essay assignment. As a group, their rate of assignment completion doubled in this instance.
For Candice, Derek, and Harriet, this increased responsibility for assignment completion extended to smaller assignments as well. They went from having a number of zeros in the grade book for second quarter to having almost none in the third. As part of this improvement, these students all began approaching me and advocating for their needs more regularly. They would find out what assignments they missed while absent and they would ask for appropriate accommodations on larger assignments. It is important to note that in addition to behaving more responsibly, these students recognized that they were doing so and were able to attribute their increased academic success to these personal changes they were making. Even Jessica, whose performance worsened, was able to attribute this decreased success to a decrease in her own level of responsible behavior.
As the project went on, all five students demonstrated a visible increase in their level of comfort interacting with me as their teacher. They approached me more often. Derek and Harriet participated more. Jessica took ownership of her shortcomings whereas in the past she had always made excuses for them or used humor to try to deflect my attention. Candice, who in the initial interview presented shyness and a very delayed reaction time, was more often alert, on-task, and capable of more fluid conversation. Even Phillip, who was the least visibly expressive of the students, began to open up during his final interview-- taking the risk to question me, himself, and the material.
As the teacher, I too was able to benefit from these one-on-one interactions. In addition to the simple pleasure of knowing my students better, I was able to gain valuable feedback from them and use that to adjust whole-class instruction. Building on feedback from Harriet, Candice, Jessica, and Phillip, I broke a week-long essay workshop down into very specific daily goals and checked student progress toward these goals on a daily basis. As a result, there was a major increase in the number of students that submitted completed essays on time when compared with the previous essay assignment.
Derek, who stated bluntly in his interview that he does not read outside of class, also indicated that he feels more accountable to his fellow students than he does to teachers or himself when it comes to getting his work done. Knowing that there were other students who also did not read outside of class (e.g. Phillip), I attempted to design the Great Gatsby/literature circle unit in a way that would make students like Derek more accountable to their peers while also providing the type of consistent teacher guidance needed by students like Candice, Harriet, and Jessica. While this unit was by no means perfect, there were many indications that previously unsuccessful and/or unmotivated students were having more fun in class and were reading more outside of class.
By making this effort to get to know those students that are not easy to know, I increased my commitment to working with students rather than teaching at them. Similarly, it would seem that their growth benefited from an increased ability to relate to me as a person rather than simply acknowledge me as an authority.
At the end of the third quarter, which coincided with the end of my student teaching, three of the five focus students were demonstrating significant academic improvement. Candice had a grade of 78, Derek had an 83, and Harriet had a 90. These were all the highest grades that these students have had this year. The target students were also turning in more work than in the past. For instance, only two of the five (Jessica and Phillip) turned in an important second quarter essay assignment prior to this study. However, during this study four of them (all except Jessica) did turn in their third quarter essay assignment. As a group, their rate of assignment completion doubled in this instance.
For Candice, Derek, and Harriet, this increased responsibility for assignment completion extended to smaller assignments as well. They went from having a number of zeros in the grade book for second quarter to having almost none in the third. As part of this improvement, these students all began approaching me and advocating for their needs more regularly. They would find out what assignments they missed while absent and they would ask for appropriate accommodations on larger assignments. It is important to note that in addition to behaving more responsibly, these students recognized that they were doing so and were able to attribute their increased academic success to these personal changes they were making. Even Jessica, whose performance worsened, was able to attribute this decreased success to a decrease in her own level of responsible behavior.
As the project went on, all five students demonstrated a visible increase in their level of comfort interacting with me as their teacher. They approached me more often. Derek and Harriet participated more. Jessica took ownership of her shortcomings whereas in the past she had always made excuses for them or used humor to try to deflect my attention. Candice, who in the initial interview presented shyness and a very delayed reaction time, was more often alert, on-task, and capable of more fluid conversation. Even Phillip, who was the least visibly expressive of the students, began to open up during his final interview-- taking the risk to question me, himself, and the material.
As the teacher, I too was able to benefit from these one-on-one interactions. In addition to the simple pleasure of knowing my students better, I was able to gain valuable feedback from them and use that to adjust whole-class instruction. Building on feedback from Harriet, Candice, Jessica, and Phillip, I broke a week-long essay workshop down into very specific daily goals and checked student progress toward these goals on a daily basis. As a result, there was a major increase in the number of students that submitted completed essays on time when compared with the previous essay assignment.
Derek, who stated bluntly in his interview that he does not read outside of class, also indicated that he feels more accountable to his fellow students than he does to teachers or himself when it comes to getting his work done. Knowing that there were other students who also did not read outside of class (e.g. Phillip), I attempted to design the Great Gatsby/literature circle unit in a way that would make students like Derek more accountable to their peers while also providing the type of consistent teacher guidance needed by students like Candice, Harriet, and Jessica. While this unit was by no means perfect, there were many indications that previously unsuccessful and/or unmotivated students were having more fun in class and were reading more outside of class.
By making this effort to get to know those students that are not easy to know, I increased my commitment to working with students rather than teaching at them. Similarly, it would seem that their growth benefited from an increased ability to relate to me as a person rather than simply acknowledge me as an authority.