Here is my educational, yet not directly NPM related post. Recently I have been thinking a lot about what makes a teacher a memorable and effective teacher when it comes to criticizing a student. There is a lot that can be said that would put a student down and make him or her feel incapable of success. I never want to make one of my students feel this way. So, I want to make sure that any comments I might have are delivered in a positive way. Today, I had a great example of this.
I went to see a professor to look over a paper for his class. He took a few minutes to look over the paper, thought for a moment about what he wanted to say, and then guided me to an even better paper. He began to ask questions and develop a better understanding of my thought process. From there, he gave me the opportunity to explain my writing and basically present my paper. He truly wanted to see my point of view before making any changes or suggestions. With a better understanding, he was able to show me what the reader sees, and what aspects were confusing. He basically presented the paper back to me from an outsider perspective. By doing this, I was able to take a step back and hear my own work from a new voice.
I left that meeting feeling even more confident about my paper and writing ability. He guided me and made criticisms; however, they were constructive and truly helpful. My professor did not just tell me what was wrong or unclear with my paper. He showed me, explained to me, and taught me what, why, and how things were weak. It was a learning experience and an opportunity for my professor and I to be on the same level. He took himself down from the pedestal and worked WITH me in a tactful and constructive way to strengthen my writing.
Im glad to hear your meeting with that teacher went well Sam!
ReplyDeleteAs a future teacher, this is the kind of criticism I want to give my students because this helps them become a better writer. Marking errors and telling "you're wrong" isnt helping. Explanations are a must so students learn how to better their projects.
The only thing I fear is if it is possible. With most schools having 8 periods, 2 taken out for lunch and a free period usually, that leaves you with about 5 or 6 classes of students a year. Factoring in the average of 25 students per classroom, thats almost 150 students and providing constructive criticism and meeting with them is gonna take a lot of time.
Personally, I am willing to put in as much work as i physically and mentally can but how long will it last? What else can we do? Any ideas?
It is so good to hear of a paper that's evaluated in a way that isn't just a big number circled at the top. I agree completely with both Sam and Joey that simply saying "this is wrong; minus 5" isn't getting our students anywhere fast. Despite the fact that having 150 student papers to look over scares me, too, I know how important giving advice like your professor did for you. I've been tossing around the idea of trying, somehow, to squeeze in individual conferences for each student to spend at least 2 minutes with me to talk about their paper and get some guidance into class. This seems daunting, but through experience, I've found even a few minutes of one on one guidance on a paper can make as much difference as Sam saw in her paper. It would take at least one whole class period, but if I can swing it, I want to. Thoughts on this?
ReplyDelete