Submitted by Janet Young of Spoon River College, Adult Education Advisor
Janet is part of the central SLN Institute
I am trying to teach students responsibility. Part of that responsibility
is coming to class. The teacher and I both give lots of positive verbal
feed back to those that are sitting in their seats, notebooks
out and ready to start class right on time. We also try to build their
self-esteem by showing them where they were at at the beginning of
class, to where they are now by using the progress they have made on
their writing, post-testing, vocabulary and math. Everyday we have them
fill out
a self-monitoring chart on the progress they have made just for that
day. We started at the beginning of class by having them write down the
reason they wanted to come to GED class. Then at the end of each class
period, they have to write down what they accomplished that day towards
their goal, one thing they learned that day and what they could do to
improve something they are struggling with. We do this in the last 15
min. of the class and then ask anyone if they want to share. We have
found when they are proud of themselves for something they learn, they
love to stand up and brag about it. The rest of the class usually claps
and is excited for them. The students that maybe struggling will
sometimes talk about something that is going on with them that is making
it hard for them to reach their goals, but the rest of the class is
supportive and encourages them to keep trying. I have found that they
are willing to help each other and work better in groups by doing this
self-monitoring chart this year. Plus it also helps us know our students
better and how we can help them. It is a good monitoring tool for us,
because if the student keeps writing down the same thing that they are struggling with, day after day, it helps us to see that we need to teach
in a different way, or go back and spend more time on that subject.
