After
closely observing my class for the past three days, I really want to consider
the role that confidence plays in the classroom and the direct impact that has
on student work. I have noticed that students who are willing to jump into a
task or an assignment without google translate or a dictionary, ultimately end
up being more successful. Other students who tend to turn to their neighbor and
ask questions in their native language oftentimes do not even begin an
assignment until time is already over. My students are afraid of taking risks
and they are perfectionists. I also want to look at this is terms of gender
roles. In class, it seems that it is a group of my female students who are
hesitant to make mistakes and take risks, however, after looking at student work,
I have a small group of male students that are equally as hesitant to try
something for fear of being wrong. I am very candid and open with my students,
so I know that they have seen me make many mistakes throughout the course of the
first three weeks of school; no one is perfect! To what extent would it be okay
for me to teach this to them so that they would be more willing to try things
in the classroom? I am also wondering if this is solely because of their
language proficiency. I know that I would feel nervous as well if I had to
write and speak in a language that wasn’t English. However, how can I push my
students to take risks in order to learn?
I
question the use of SIOP in my classroom as well in its effectiveness to combat
this issue. I feel that pre-teaching necessary vocabulary and incorporating
different entry points with comprehensible input is not enough to make students
comfortable with the content to the point where they are willing to take risks.
Observations:
I
have noticed that my students who are willing to take risks are those that have
more proficiency in English. I am curious about asking these students in what
ways they learned English the best so that I can try and create a safe space
for my level 1’s to take risks in order to learn English.
On
Friday, I gave my 10th grade students a game of charades that they
could play in small groups. Although my school has a rotating schedule
throughout the week, which is great, I have the same class the last period of
the day on Friday. This week, we are still working on memoir and narrative
writing. Charades worked out well because I could incorporate it into a
show-don’t-tell lesson. With this activity, I required everyone to participate and
act. I thought that since charades is a silent activity, more students would be
willing to take risks because they didn’t necessarily need to know English.
However, I observed that the female students were more timid to act out the
actions that were depicted for them on the cards. Does this have to do with
gender dynamics in the classroom or the fact that teenagers and self-conscious
in general?
Alyson, perhaps they are going through the silent period of learning a new language. If they have not used English a lot they will be hesitant to speak it out of fear of ridicule or making mistakes maybe. They need lots of encouragement and support one on one, which is not always possible in a large classroom setting. Are they equally hesitant to write out in English? Maybe have them do some writing instead of talking out in English. They maybe more proficient in reading and writing.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how well they know each other and feel like it's a classroom community where they can take the risk of being wrong and it's okay. I think looking into the psychology of this, for ELLs in particular, would be interesting, as well as the sociocultural nature of it. In other words, what gender and cultural norms were at work in the schools they attended before? You might ask them about that, as well as do some research.
ReplyDeleteI think that some of the fear of mistakes might be, like Dr. J said, some cultural norms. I have found that some students, who have been in private schools in other countries, are very conscious of their school work. These students also have parents who teach the same value of education at home. I think that many of our Ls have an adjustment period to the activities and tests that we give that are meant to monitor their progress. When they hear the word "test" the students think that they need to preform perfectly, when we expect them to make mistakes. This sentiment travels over to all aspects of their work as well. This cultural adjustment is something that we have to be aware of and sensitive to when we work with our Ls.
ReplyDeleteI think that some of the fear of mistakes might be, like Dr. J said, some cultural norms. I have found that some students, who have been in private schools in other countries, are very conscious of their school work. These students also have parents who teach the same value of education at home. I think that many of our Ls have an adjustment period to the activities and tests that we give that are meant to monitor their progress. When they hear the word "test" the students think that they need to preform perfectly, when we expect them to make mistakes. This sentiment travels over to all aspects of their work as well. This cultural adjustment is something that we have to be aware of and sensitive to when we work with our Ls.
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ReplyDeleteI think students are often afraid of taking risks. It takes time for them to understand that risks can lead to success. As your students become comfortable in class, they will hopefully take those needed risks.
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