Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
Focus area: 4.1 - Support student participation
Reflection
When approaching student participation, relationships and engagement both play a role. As Spilt et al. (2012) stress, positive student-teacher relationships are the cornerstone for effective teaching and learning. Both written and verbal feedback saw my mentor teachers comment on the speed in which I developed a positive rapport with each student in the class, something which started with something as simple as using their names in lesson content. Sieberer-Nagler (2015) reveal that using student names adds to a positive classroom climate, by making students feel welcomed and as though they belong. This is something I found to be beneficial when it came to encouraging student
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participation, of which I achieved a result of ‘demonstrated’ in my final report. When explicitly teaching, I would use my students’ names in the examples wherever possible. This engaged students and made them more eager to participate, thus, optimising their learning.
Another way I encouraged student participation was through the think/pair/share technique. As Mundelsee and Jurkowski (2021) suggest, some students may feel uncomfortable answering immediately after being asked a question. I found this to be true in my classroom, as I found there were only 2-3 students who would consistently raise their hand in response to a question directed at the whole class. However, when I asked students to discuss the question with the person next to them, more students were willing to share. This observation is supported by research, as Mundelsee and Jurkowski (2021) found that the think/pair/share strategy gives more time for students to think about and prepare their answers, thus making participating in discussions less daunting. As Woolfolk and Margett (2019) remark, when educating children, we are not only educating them academically but also socially, thus, the think/pair/share strategy also developed students’ communicative and collaborative skills, further boosting their overall participation.
Another way I encouraged student participation was through the think/pair/share technique. As Mundelsee and Jurkowski (2021) suggest, some students may feel uncomfortable answering immediately after being asked a question. I found this to be true in my classroom, as I found there were only 2-3 students who would consistently raise their hand in response to a question directed at the whole class. However, when I asked students to discuss the question with the person next to them, more students were willing to share. This observation is supported by research, as Mundelsee and Jurkowski (2021) found that the think/pair/share strategy gives more time for students to think about and prepare their answers, thus making participating in discussions less daunting. As Woolfolk and Margett (2019) remark, when educating children, we are not only educating them academically but also socially, thus, the think/pair/share strategy also developed students’ communicative and collaborative skills, further boosting their overall participation.
References
Mundelsee, L., & Jurkowski, S. (2021). Think and pair before share: Effects of collaboration on students' in-class participation. Learning and Individual Differences, 88(102015). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102015
Sieberer-Nagler, K. (2015). Effective Classroom-Management & Positive Teaching. English Language Teaching (Toronto), 9(1), 163. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n1p163
Spilt, J., Hughes, J., Wu, J., & Kwok, O. (2012). Dynamics of Teacher–Student Relationships: Stability and Change Across Elementary School and the Influence on Children’s Academic Success. Child Development, 83(4), 1180-1195. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01761.x
Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2019). Educational psychology (5th ed.). Pearson Australia.
Mundelsee, L., & Jurkowski, S. (2021). Think and pair before share: Effects of collaboration on students' in-class participation. Learning and Individual Differences, 88(102015). https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102015
Sieberer-Nagler, K. (2015). Effective Classroom-Management & Positive Teaching. English Language Teaching (Toronto), 9(1), 163. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v9n1p163
Spilt, J., Hughes, J., Wu, J., & Kwok, O. (2012). Dynamics of Teacher–Student Relationships: Stability and Change Across Elementary School and the Influence on Children’s Academic Success. Child Development, 83(4), 1180-1195. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01761.x
Woolfolk, A., & Margetts, K. (2019). Educational psychology (5th ed.). Pearson Australia.