HELPING STUDENTS IMPROVE THEIR WORK

AGNES I. NARON

Teachers sometimes commit the mistake of correcting every flaw in their students’work, instead of helping them improve. The right thing to do is to give them feedback, which will be helpful for improving their learning.

Make sure than when you notice the same mistake twice, point it out to the student and ask about what needs to be revised, instead of making a correction. This will make students feel that we have faith in them to address the problem. This also gives them more responsibility for their learning. It’s best to let students figure out and learn from their own mistakes.

Sometimes, however, giving feedback does not always work because some students find it insensitive, even when we don’t intend this to be.

Students are resilient, and care deeply about what adults think of them.

Try to provide time with them for a one-on-one and give positive feedback to give them a boost of confidence. When we provide feedback, let’s do our best to reiterate that it’s always a good idea to have a classmate do the same.

Students are often better at explaining or getting across certain points than teachers, surprisingly. This would go a long way toward fostering a greater sense of cooperation among students.

It is also important to let students know that nobody is above feedback, including their teacher. We, too, make mistakes, and we should share this with our students.

If something doesn’t make sense to students, it likely won’t make sense to others either. Our students should feel that we also value their criticism. This would help build a team mentality in the classroom, and that students and teacher are learning and growing together.

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The author is Teacher I at Dela Paz Norte Elementary School