Hi Deb,
Great response! All students matter and should be interacted with.
Patricia Scales
Hi Sara,
We need to make a point to interact with ALL students.
Patricia Scales
It's important to interact with all students because it validates all students, even the quiet ones, the angry ones, and the disengaged. It shows the students that you are aware of their presence and are there to assist them with the learning process. It also prevents showing favoritism, because the instructor is giving each student the chance to participate and be part of the larger group. All students want and need inclusion, therefore having all students participate helps to increase the knowledge of the group as a whole.
If the instructor does not recognize or interact with all students, it creates a disservice to both the student and the group.
One thing that helps me alot to learn students' names so I can call them by name is to send around a seating chart they fill out so I know who sits where.
As I call roll the first session, I write phonetical spellings next to hard to say names. I also may write some characterisitc of the student, such as short red hair, long red hair. This helps me as I get to know people. I take this list into every class with me.
Students are SO happy when you can say their name correctly. I am always getting compliments from students about this.
It is easy for students to slip through the cracks and to be bullied out of class participation by the more outgoing students. Interacting with them will not only enhance their experience in the class but will also assist me in providing an accurate assessment of their progress.
Last week the class divided into small groups. Students picked cards from a playing deck to determine who would work together.
One group had just two people, one of whom is very shy. I was able to work with this group and tell them their skit was great thus giving the shy person some positive input before presentation.
I went around the rooms and met with each group. I was able to zero in on another shy person.
The skits went great and one of the shy people got thunderous applause.
Instructors need to interact with students for many reasons:
- to have an understanding of that students level of competence, so if they do poorly on a quiz, you can counsel them on their abilities.
- to have a clue if the students behavior is different from their normal behavior. It might be that a student had already experienced a difficult day - a speeding ticket on the way to class, a sick child, or a fight with a spouse; there can be any number of reasons a student might act differently, but you can assess the behavior and help the student if necessary.
- to have an understanding of their work/study ethic. This understanding will help the instructor know if students are really submitting their work or cheating.
- interaction will also help the instructor understand what is relevant to students and how to make the material relevant to them.
- and, if the student is "a dropout candidate," interaction with him or her will have armed the instructor with ideas on how to retain that student.
Bottom line: interaction with student builds the trust necessary to effectively manage a classroom.
Each of us has an inate need for belonging and accpetance, even more so the student. Students need to know that they share a common goal with their class as well as the instructor. Allowing the class clown to draw attention away from other students whose goal is to learn would be the same as having a student sit in the back of the room and never be acknowledged for working towards a goal.
I agree with the course when it says teachers should get to know every student.
We broke down into small groups this week to do a project wherein each group pantomimed an endocrine disorder (goiter, hump back, cold intolerance, polyuria plus a hundred more symptoms). The other students had to cluster the symptoms and yell out the name of the disorder.
Because I know the students, I was able to hold back from expecting too much from a very shy student.
The same reason that it's important to interact with everyone you come in contact with--we all need to feel worthwhile, and the best way to help someone feel that way is to acknowledge them and make sure they know that they are part of your circle.
It is important for several reasons: (1) they have paid good money for the teacher to impart knowledge to the student, (2) maintaining interaction can make the student feel empowered to interact on his/her own with the teacher or other students, (3) the student(s) feels less inclination to be inattentive, unruly, or antagonistic, (4) the teacher would feel satisfaction in knowing that desired learning objectives were being met.
I think students with whom I have that interaction, are more attentive in lecture. I am guessing it is because the student knows I know who he/she is.
I think the class so far has not presented how to deal with colleagues who go for a more personal relationship with students. I would like to hear people's views on that.
Interaction between student and instructors has multiple benefits. Interacting builds a rapport, a comfort level between student and instructor. It validates the students presence and contributions. The student will most likely contribute more if they feel they are in a safe and encouraging environment. Interacting with the students demonstrates that the instructor cares about them at an individual level. It also gives the instructor insights to the students behavioral patterns and the instructor can utilize those behaviors to engage the student in ways that motivate student learning.
I find questions like this a bit silly, frankly. If you don't know why interacting with all of your students is important, this forum certainly won't help. I enjoyed this course, but I don't find this question helpful. A better question would be to request tips for interacting with shy students. I make it my business to ask them something they appear to be interested in outside of class...it's less threatening.
I think that it is really important to interact with your every student in your classroom. Each student is different than the other. When you interact with them, you get to know them a little bit better so that you can pick up on things and help them if they need it. You can pick up on a learning disability or if their stuggling with something in class or even their personal lives. You then have an idea on your next step/approach to take with them.
to show them you know them as an individual, that you care, to reduce their stress and fears, that they are not just a number.
Every student learns in a different way. Getting to know every student will help in your effective teaching. This will build trust on both the student and the instructor side.
Hi Tangee,
I concur. Every student likes to think that they are important, and in essence they are. They are the most important people in the building, and we should always treat them as such.
Patricia Scales
Hi Paul,
Students love and need to feel apart! Every student matters, and we should make them feel as such.
Patricia Scales
Having interaction with every student is important for them to feel included, and accepted by the class. I keeps them focused and engaged so they participate and then it becomes a win / win for student and instructor.
Jerry
