A TRAINING MANUAL OF DEALING WITH LOW AND HIGH ACHIEVING CHILDREN INCLUDING REMEDIAL TEACHING

PREFACE: In this Module, TWO different topics are discussed. Unit One is on dealing low and high achieving children in class room.. Unit Two discusses the method and strategies which are to be adopted by a teacher in remedial teaching.

The Module aims to introduce you to most of the key concepts and some of the management skills and approaches that you will need in class room management, Effect of cluster groups in schools, How to encourage students to do well in the class room, High expectations in the class room, How to improve self confidence and attention span in the class room, Motivational effect in the class room environment, Strategies for low achiever, How to teach a child with low IQ, How to teach gifted children, Tips on mentoring children, How to build relationship in the class room. In unit two various strategies required for remedial teaching. It alsocontains practical suggestions and can serve as a handbook to principals, school supervisors as well as teacher trainers. The aims and objectives for each unit indicate what you should know and be able to do after studying the topic.

Therefore, it would be wise to go back to the objectives and check whether or not the objectives are achieved after completing a unit. Activities designed to get one’s reflection on the topic under discussion and/or to apply the content to a particular educational situation are also included in this Module.

In using this Module, you must keep in mind the fact that there are many ways to do a thing. Therefore, you are encouraged to study, argue and discuss each topic in group, internalize the contents, find out better ways of doing things, if there are any, and apply them to the objective conditions of your schools.

OBJECTIVE: DEALING OF LOW AND HIGH ACHIEVING CHILDREN.

After studying this unit one could able to tell the methods which are needed to

1)work closely with other professionals in the school, such as the special education and

guidance departments, to work with students who have special needs and behavioral issues

beyond basic classroom management.

2) To know the benefits of cluster grouping

3) Observes that positive attitude and highly motivated teacher produces high level of learning in children

4)A teacher keeps High expectation over children produces high motivation

5)Self esteem is correlated with high achievement

6) give reward for each small achievable goal

Principles of Classroom Management Coping With Behavior

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Principles of Classroom Management Coping With Behavior

The more time that teachers spend on classroom management and behavioral issues the less time they have for teaching and learning. Unfortunately, every student does not enter the classroom daily with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to learn. Students will act out, get attention, play and be just plain disrespectful. Teachers must handle each situation with care and consistency. Good teachers understand that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Effective teachers have a good handle on key principles of classroom management for coping with behavior.

  1. Seating Arrangement

An effective seating arrangement can help head off behavioral issues. It might take a few class sessions to get the mix right, but do not neglect this. Mix high achievers with moderate and low achievers. This tends to prevent a low or moderate achiever from getting bored and isolated, which can precede inappropriate behavior. Mix talkative students around quieter students. Make sure the talkative pals are not seated too close together. Also, advise students during the seating assessment period that you are watching their behavior to determine more permanent seating arrangement. Give some seating preferences to the best-behaved students. Also, have designated timeout and isolation areas.

  1. Parent Partnership
  2. Make every effort to include parents in a child's educational and behavioral plan. Early in the school year, send a copy of your classroom rules to parents for a signature. Establish classroom rules and have the parent and student sign the rules and bring them back to you for an extra-credit grade. Make sure you have correct phone numbers, email addresses and best times to call for each student's parent or guardian. Maintain contact with each parent on a regular basis, giving periodic positive feedback to best-behaved students, and more frequent, perhaps weekly, reports for more troublesome students. Understand that some parents will not participate, but do keep a copy of all of your communication efforts. Set up parent conferences as needed.
  3. Classroom Rules
  4. Make sure all students understand the classroom rules. Go over them in class, with the students taking turns reading and explaining what the rules mean. Establish rules such as no eating, no chewing, no getting up or speaking without raising their hands, no touching things on the teacher's desk, bringing needed materials such as pencil and paper to class, coming to class on time and being in their seats when the bell rings. Establish a reward system to apply positive reinforcement to students who obey the rules, such as a ticket for a student who is well behaved for a week. Tickets can later be redeemed for a small reward such as a pencil or eraser.

Comfort Zone

  • Don't overreact to less serious classroom indiscretions. Children will be children. Sometimes an invasion of their personal space or comfort zone is all that is needed to stop behavior, such as speaking out of turn. First, make eye contact with the individual. If the behavior continues, call on them to answer a question. If it persists, move closer to them to invade their personal space. Other steps include writing their name on the board, time out and behavior essays. Use all the tools to keep the student in class and the lesson moving before taking steps to remove a student from the classroom.

Repercussions and Consequences

  • When all else fails, show the students that bad behavior has consequences. That means that good teachers sometimes have to write referrals for students to attend in-school suspension, after-school detention or out-of-school suspension. This should be done in connection with communication with a parent or guardian. The student must understand the severity of her actions and what she needs to do to prevent further action. If this type of action is not used, other students might begin to think there are no consequences for bad behavior.

Also, show students that good behavior has consequences. Ron Walker, an educational consultant, says positive reinforcement has a greater chance of changing permanent behavior than negative reinforcement, for many students. Positive behaviors help students develop a value system that helps them later in life. For instance, students coming off a punishment can be put on a reward system with such tasks as passing out papers or markers or taking up papers. Establish that student-adult relationship.

The Effect of Cluster Groups in Schools

Cluster grouping allows gifted students to work together.

To acknowledge student differences, some schools opt to place students in cluster groups. This grouping pays attention to the needs of gifted students without ignoring average and low-achieving students. Cluster grouping has positives and negatives, and like most classroom structures, it works best with an adequately trained teacher.

  1. Identification
  2. Cluster grouping is a method of classroom organization that places gifted and high achieving students together, then mixes the average, low-average and special education learners. Some schools that use cluster grouping also place a handful of gifted students with average and low-average learners. This is more popular in rural districts when the student population does not allow for separate classes.

Benefits

  • In a cluster grouping environment, gifted students can interact with their gifted peers, which benefits and encourages them. The Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development of the University of Connecticut says that gifted students should spend the majority of their day with other gifted peers. Their research shows that children learn most from students of similar abilities. Kids Sources says that these children are more likely to try challenging activities when they are around other gifted and high-achieving students. Also, cluster grouping saves a district money, as districts do not need multiple programs for students of different abilities.

Warning

  • Parents of other children might fight to have their students placed in a cluster group class, whether their children truly belongs in it or not. Requiring parents provide outside documentation of a student's intellectual abilities can reduce this demand. Rotating teachers every two years can ensure that qualified teachers are working in other areas of the school as well. In addition, some research suggests that average and low-average students will flourish better when they are not around gifted students, as they can be seen as the higher achievers of their own environment.

Considerations

In a cluster grouping model, it is important that teachers have training in dealing with gifted students and that those paired with lower-achieving students are also equipped to deal with their specific needs. The benefits of cluster grouping will likely be insignificant if the teacher does not have the training or appropriate curriculum for multiple learners

How to Encourage Students to Do Well in the Classroom

Resources and tools are available for teachers to help students succeed in the classroom.

Students can be encouraged to do well in the classroom when their teacher creates an environment that motivates them to succeed. Students learn best when their teacher is highly motivated and has a positive attitude. Teachers can encourage students to do well by setting reasonable expectations and involving their students in the learning process, and inspire students to be active participants in their learning. Exhibit enthusiasm and students will be encouraged to do well in the classroom.

Instructions

Be enthusiastic yourself, because motivation and enthusiasm are contagious. When a teacher is motivated and excited about the learning materials, students will be more interested. Exhibit self-confidence, and express your confidence in your students' abilities to succeed. Teachers who are confident and motivated inspire students to achieve.

Provide positive and supportive feedback to all students. Demonstrate that you care about their success and students will be more motivated to succeed. Respond positively to questions from students, and help them develop the skills necessary to solve problems on their own. Their motivation and self-confidence will increase as their skills increase. Create a positive environment where learning is enjoyable.

Assign tasks and homework that are at a level to challenge students but are not so difficult that they become discouraged. Assignments that are too easy will also have a negative impact on student motivation. If the work is too difficult, some students may give up. If it is too easy, they may become bored. Use a variety of materials including visual aids to keep students actively engaged in the learning process.

Set reasonable expectations for students in your classroom. Expectations for student performance should be high but realistic. Students will be motivated to succeed if they believe that they can achieve the goals you have set for them. Students are motivated to perform when their teacher demonstrates that she expects her students to succeed. Focus on learning while placing less emphasis on grades.

Use a variety of teaching methods that involve the students in learning. Role playing, games, discussions, group activities and guest speakers instead of lectures keep students interested and motivated to learn. Encourage student input in how the material is presented. Students who feel like their opinions matter will be more actively engaged and encouraged to succeed.

High Expectations in the Classroom

When teachers and parents expect more of students, they usually achieve more.

Expectations play an important role in education. Students who are expected to get good grades and go on to college usually do, but what about those who are the focus of lower expectations? By projecting high expectations for all students, teachers can motivate children to achieve more, leading them to a brighter future.

Importance of High Expectations

  • According to Ross Miller of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, raising expectations can lead to higher achievement, and numerous studies show that people with high expectations perform at a higher level than those with low expectations, even when their abilities are equal. High expectations can even transform a student's belief and behavior and turn a low-performing student into a successful learner.

Curriculum

  • Miller asserts that the Pygmalion effect -- people will perform how you expect them to -- can also have a negative effect. With the prevalence of standardized tests, many schools expect students to pass the test and therefore focus on teaching only the minimum needed to pass, rather than challenging them to do more. According to the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), engaging students in a challenging, fast-paced curriculum produces positive academic and social outcomes. Activities that encourage critical thinking and inquiry communicate the expectation that students are capable of higher-level thinking, complex problem-solving and decision-making.

Developing High Expectations in the Classroom

  • Several factors can project higher expectations to students. First, create an environment conducive to learning in your classroom. Increase the input you give to students, because expending more time and effort shows that you expect more. Finally, encourage students to give responses and increased output; students will do the work you expect them to do if they feel you support them.

The most effective way to convey high expectations to students is to establish personal relationships that communicate support, simply telling students, "I know you can do it; I believe in you." You must provide the support children need to achieve what you expect. Look for each student's strengths and find ways to use them to facilitate learning. Even students with the lowest self-esteem can become motivated when they feel that a teacher believes in them, and this can lead them to believe in themselves and have higher expectations for their own future.

Factors That Shape Expectations

  • Miller writes that measured ability often shapes teacher expectations, but this shouldn't always be true. Teachers usually project high expectations for students with high ability, such as gifted or honors students, and these students usually succeed in school and go on to post-secondary education. When a student's failure is attributed to low ability, a teacher will begin to expect less in the future.

But many students mask their own ability because of laziness, low self-esteem or rebellion. These students can blossom into high achievers when they know more is expected of them. Accordingly, students who believe they have low ability because of years of low expectations will eventually lose their motivation to learn. A teacher who has high expectations and teaches students that success is linked more to effort than to ability can help these students succeed.

Sometimes, teachers alter expectations according to race, ethnicity, life experiences and socioeconomic status, but according to Miller, successful teachers have uniformly high expectations for every student. According to the NCREL, schools with high expectations and support to help students achieve these expectations have fewer students who drop out and more who go on to college.

Expectations for Teachers

  • Miller writes that teachers who doubt their own efficacy exert less effort in instructing students, leading to lower student performance. Likewise, school administrators must exhibit high expectations for all teachers. Schools should strive to create a climate of high expectations, which will motivate teachers and students to achieve more.

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How to Improve Self Confidence in the Classroom

Teachers can have an impact on student self esteem.