Getting to Know Your Students

1
Getting to Know Your Students

• EDT 338
• Chapter 5

2
Quote

• The important thing is not so much that every
  child should be taught, as that every child
  should be given the wish to learn.
• (John Lubbock)

3
How to get to know your students

• Cumulative records
• Depository of information from K-12
• Personal information
• Home and family data
• School attendance records
• Scores on standardized tests
• Year-end academic grades
• Teacher anecdotal comments
• Miscellaneous information

4
Activity

• See page 119
• What do you know about the following students
  based on the data in the cumulative folder?
• Jack Brogan
• Kathleen Glovack
• Benny Gamble
• Julio Rivera
• Debbie Walker

5
Getting to know your students

• Standardized test scores
• Aptitude Tests
• Measure general potential to learn
• IQ tests
• Achievement tests
• Measures how much a student already knows
• compared to similar students
• - grade equivalent score (Airasian, 2001) pupils
  level of performance relative to students in own
  grade

6
Getting to know your students

• Teacher anecdotal comments
• Students learning characteristics
• Students work habits
• Students social and personality characteristics
• Students achievement
• Students problems
• Students maladies
• Students interest
• Students family

7
Writing anecdotal comments about students

• Write specific rather than general comments
• When possible use words that promote a positive
  view of the student
• When conveying that a student needs help use
  words and phrases such as
• Pat could profit by
• Pat requires
• Pat finds it difficult
• Pat needs help with
• Avoid using unable, cant wont, always

8
Writing anecdotal comments describing an event

• Cover one single incident
• Record it as soon as possible
• Begin with a description of the place where it
  occurred, the people involved and the
  circumstances
• Describe what transpired (used direct quotes)
• Describe how it concluded
• If related to other episodes tell how and why

9
Activity

• Go to the cumulative files (page 119)
• Read the teachers comments
• Compare them to Brualdis (1988) suggestions for
  writing anecdotal comments
• If you were writing comments about the students
  what would you write?

10

• Writing IEPs (Individual Education Plans)
• Visit the website
• Manitoba Education website
• Search iep samples
• Gives four to view

11
Getting to know your students

• Observing students
• Formal
• Planned observations to obtain specific
  information
• Informal
• Casual, unplanned, spontaneous
• Interviewing students
• Questionnaires

12
Sociogram

• See page 104
• A technique to obtain information about the
  social acceptability of individuals within a
  group.
• A diagram represents the social relationships
  that exists within a group
• Begin
• Ask each class member to write the names of three
  students they would like to work with or sit near
• Then plot the relationships

13
Getting to know your students

• Autobiography
• Talking to parents or guardians
• Case study approach
• Teacher putting all information together to form
  a comprehensive view of the student
• Identifying information
• Family history
• Students medical history
• Students school history
• See page 107

14
Evaluating Information

• Questions to ask?
• Is this information suitable for my purpose?
• Is this information really accurate?
• Is it bias? (gender, SES, teacher)
• Halo effect
• Is it stable? (inconsistent information)

15
Motivating Students to Learn

• What techniques have your teachers used to
  motivate students to learn?

16
Motivating Students to Learn

• Establish an environment that is conducive to
  learning.
• Maximize the likelihood that learners will learn
• They believe they can perform the task and feel
  rewarded
• They believe they have the power to succeed
• They believe they will receive the needed support

17
Motivating Students to Learn

• Make challenging but ability-related demands on
  students
• Praise effort, accept progress, and
  individualized as required
• Use incentives or contracts that tell learning
  goals and rewards for success
• Use both extrinsic and intrinsic reward as
  suitable

18
Motivation

• It is better have learners engage in activities
  for own reasons and fulfillment (intrinsic) than
  to please others, obtain reward, or avoid
  punishment (extrinsic)
• Increase intrinsic motivation
• Give choices (encourage autonomy)
• Match learning task to students ability
• Use activity-oriented projects
• Use authentic activities
• Adapt activities to meet interest of students
• Personalize learning - make connections with them
• Avoid boring and aversive tasks

19
Motivation

• Encourage students to value learning
• Teacher an enthusiastic learner
• Treat students as eager learners
• Cause learners to think deeply
• Attach learning to students life experiences

20
Final Thoughts

• Dont rush to judgment Give each student a
  second chance to make a good impression.
• Students change from year to year-
  developmentally (cognitively, physically,
  emotionally, socially)
• Observe the student
• Talk to the student
• Get to know the student