There are several tips that can be incorporated to help with engaging resistant learners. This post is going to use the video “Engaging Resistant Learners” by Dr. Rachel Turney. In the video, there are a couple tips that I want to try to incorporate into my future classroom. There are several tips throughout the video of things that I hadn’t thought of and are things that need to be carefully examined into the classroom.
The first thing I want to try to establish in my classroom is sending POSITIVE notes home to parents. Most notes when sent home are negative. An occasional note sent home talking about how their student is improving or did something awesome in class does a lot for the student. It grows a better connection between the student and the teacher. Anyone, no matter how old, loves a note saying how they are doing something well.
Another idea that I really like was holding an awards ceremony. Every quarter of the year in my elementary school, we held a grade wide awards ceremony. Each teacher would present a handful of awards and recognize different students each time. Parents were also invited to these events and would make these moments even more special. If allowed, I would like to have a grade wide awards ceremony like this too. If not, a classroom awards ceremony is something I would try to implement instead. It’s important for students to be recognized for their hard work to help them continue this hard work.
My last main thought from the video was adding value to the the students. I am going to try to make class time with inspiring content. Students that can find topics valuable to them are more likely to be engaged in what you are trying to teach. If they see no value in what you’re trying to preach, there’s going to be off-task behaviors everywhere. I think this is hard at times to achieve. Some things aren’t going to be easy to relate to students but this is where teachers can get creative. Fun and thoughtful activities to make students excited can save a lot of stress at the end of a lesson.
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