West Central Consortium|
Northwest Consortium
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Teaching Strategy: Extra Attention A student's ability to learn can be enhanced or inhibited by the teacher's approach or handling of the student. Public school, with the high teacher-to-student ratio, many times allows a student to fall short of his or her expectations. These students need attention. In my Adult Literacy class, I met such a student during my fourth month of teaching. Brandy came to class because she had failed the high school exit exam. She seemed bright, articulate, and knew that she wanted a high school diploma. This student had been out of school for a year but had not abandoned her dream of furthering her education. We decided on an approach that would strengthen her academic abilities and ultimately result in a GED or high school diploma. Brandy stated in a practice essay that she received more attention in my class than she had ever experienced in public school. I discovered that she had difficulty remaining focused on an entire exercise or test. For example, she might score 15 correctly and then fail to correctly answer the next five questions. This was more than a random occurrence. Brandy needed to know that the lack of success in achieving her goals could be remedied through identifying the problem and addressing it. Subject matter was not the primary obstacle in her case. No one had given her a little extra attention until she came to the Adult Literacy class. I do not propose to have all the answers, but in this particular case I was successful in helping a student achieve her goal. Brandy passed the high school exit exam last month and will receive her diploma. Whether the students earns a high school diploma or the GED, being instrumental in the success of our students is the teacher's reward, and not a bad reward at that.
Edward Penn
Sherry Gray Low or non-readers require a lot of direct one-on-one instruction. Therefore, I make myself available as the teacher. I also encourage them to read to me. This is a vital part of their growth in learning to read.Some students are uncomfortable asking for assistance. Therefore, I walk around the classroom many times during the class period and offer individual assistance.
Deborah Santiago
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