Monitoring
Student Improvement
One of the most important responsibilities of a teacher is to be able
to assess student understanding and learning and with that knowledge be
able to adjust the teaching style in order to allow for student progress.
Here I have three examples of where I have been able to assess the student's
understanding and then make changes either in my style or approach to help
the student grow. In this I have discovered the power that I have as a
teacher. The three students are very different and so different approaches
were taken, as you will see. Their names have been changed to protect their
identity.
Maxwell was a student in my honors physics course. He was one of my
top students in the class, but he had a learning disability in reading
and writing. I took his strengths as a mathematician and a scientist and
helped him apply them to his reading and writing.
| To see Maxwell's improvement click here. |
One of the ways that attempted to better assess student understanding
was by merely asking the students. Here are some examples of students reflecting
on the class and how they are doing in the class. The reflections were
both enlightening and frustrating. Some of the ideas the students had gave
me a better perspective on where they were. However, some comments showed
that students are sometimes unable to take the responsibility and burden
of studying and doing work. At the end, I made some conclusions about what
I can do to help student motivation.
| To see examples of student reflections click
here. |
Liza was a student in my honors chemistry class. A very energetic and
talkative student, she lacked focus when it came to studying and taking
notes. With lunch time tutoring and badgering to see completed work, Liza
began to get higher grades on quizzes and tests.
| To see Liza's improvement click
here. |
Betty was also a student in my honors chemistry class. A quiet student,
I often overlooked her when I monitored students during guided practice.
Although a very conscientious student, she did not make very high scores
on her work.
| To see Betty's improvement click here. |