We all remember the innocent Ishan Awasti From the Movie “Taare Zameen Par”. At the same time, all his classmates thrived in a rigorous and competitive environment. He struggled to cope with it. He struggled silently and his difficulties with reading and writing overshadowed all his creative and artistic talents over time. It wasn't until a compassionate art teacher Ram Shanker Nikumbh entered his life that his world changed.
Every kid needs a Ram Shanker Nikumbh in his life, who understands his students well. As teachers, we need to know our students well to ensure their overall and holistic development. If a teacher doesn't put enough effort into knowing students then we’ll always have an anxious and confused Ishan Awasti in the classroom.
This blog post will discuss a four-step technique to know your student. But before that let's know the basic requirements to know a student.
Basics of Knowing a Student
Knowing a Kid goes far beyond remembering his or her name. It's about understanding personality, learning styles, interests and unique challenges they face.
Keep scrolling!
Personalities: Personality is an important aspect in deciding techniques of teaching for a student. A student can be an introvert or extrovert. A student can also be a perfectionist, an observer, and a social butterfly.
Learning styles: A student's learning style helps us plan the activities in lessons. Different students prefer different learning styles. Some students prefer visual learning while others prefer audio Learning. Some are more into kinesthetic experience while some can go with reading and writing.
Interests: Interests capture students' attention and enthusiasm. They can be powerful tools for engagement in the classroom. Some have more scientific temperaments than artistic. Some are performers while others are athletic. Some are more into technology and gadgets than traditional activities.
Unique Challenges: Individual students can face specific challenges and difficulties. These difficulties can relate to their social, economic, or physical well-being. It can vary greatly from one student to another for example, some students have learning disabilities while others can have physical disabilities. They also play an important role in the overall development of the students.
Let's now begin knowing our students.
Process of Knowing A Student
This four-step technique to know your student is easy and simple. This technique can be implemented in any classroom and any environment.
Let's begin with Step 1
1️⃣Create A Welcoming Environment And Use Icebreakers.
Creating an environment where students feel safe and valued is the least you can do. Safe and affectionate environments help students to open up and take that first step toward a teacher. Cordial wishes and smiling faces can go a long way. Another thing you can do to help your students break the ice is to introduce fun activities, for example, two truths and a lie, same and different, and many more. There are various icebreaker activities that you can try in your classroom. If you are taking online classes, you can use Zoom breakout rooms, Google Meet, padlet, or lino depending on the activity.
Let’s move to Step 2,
2️⃣Observe, listen, and conduct questionnaires and surveys.
The next thing to do is to observe your students. Notice every activity of your students. There will be students who participate eagerly, prefer to be an observer, and struggle silently. You should observe them keenly and then prepare questionnaires and surveys for your students. You can also prepare individual surveys or questionnaires based on observations of students. You can use different online tools for this, for example, Google forms, survey monkey, and poll everywhere for this task.
Let's discuss Step 3,
3️⃣Save Your Observations and Survey Records For Planning Lessons.
You should save your observation somewhere in a hard copy or soft copy. You can use online apps like Google Docs or Sheets to save your data online. Whenever you plan any lesson, task, or activity, do it according to the data you have. It will help you plan everything according to the needs of every student. You can use different formats to save your data.
Let's move to the last and final Step,
4️⃣Keep Updating Your Data, Hold One-on-one Meetings, And Involve Parents.
Create a safe space for individual students to open up and talk. Do it by conducting one-on-one meetings with students. Use these meetings to discuss about their academic progress and provide required support and encouragement. Use tables and graphs to visually represent their progress to them. Engage with parents to know more about students. Regular communication with parents is the key to knowing the changes that your student is going through.
Implement It In Your Classroom
Be patient and consistent while developing relationships with your students. Building friendships takes time. Celebrate their success, even the small ones. Always provide constructive feedback to your students
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