I sincerely care about each of my students, and I strive to make my lessons approachable for all types of learners. It’s difficult to write that statement without seeming trite, but I genuinely do care about each student’s success. I work hard to invest time in helping each student reach his or her personal learning goals. This is why I focus on self-assessments and building a safe community in my classroom—I want each student to feel welcome, significant, and confident in knowing their contributions offer something unique to the course. I also think having students complete personal evaluations helps them create and shape their own path to individual success. I want them to be fully aware that their voices are crucial in shaping the dynamics of the classroom, whether that is holding valuable class discussions, taking part in individual and group activities, and thinking of various modes of communication.
If a student seems overwhelmed in our full classroom meeting, I strive to set up individual conferences that help them write with one-on-one instruction. It’s important that I am consistently learning new ways to approach and deliver material in my classroom whether that be through class activities, asking students to post weekly on a blog or other social media websites, or creating a piece of artwork. If students say they absolutely hate grammar in one of my courses, I try to approach this topic in an engaging way—by assigning “grammar groups” where students can teach the class in their own way. Students can choose a style or grammar convention they’re most interested in and prepare a presentation that can display a comic strip, a written song, dance, video, a visual aid, or other distributable materials. It’s incredible what students can come up with when you give them creative freedom—I often see their negative views change through their newfound passions or from witnessing other successful student presentations.
Writing can be terrifying— I feel that fear every day when I, too, sit down to write. I want my students to know there are ways to push past that fear. I’ve enjoyed creating daily freewriting exercises in my classes, which help students get excited about writing when they come to the classroom. If the freewrite isn’t automatically on the board when students walk into class, they ask where it is—that question alone is rewarding! Students don’t hold onto as much fear when they can communicate their ideas without worrying about each grammar mistake.
I love being challenged by my students—I love how they constantly make me assess the way I deliver my material. I don’t want to get comfortable in one particular method of delivery because I find my students engage the material in different ways.
Just recently, a composition class told me they couldn’t stand the idea of learning and writing about the rhetorical appeals. I challenged myself by making them a writing prompt that week. It read,
What if you had to convince…?
· A nun to go to a nightclub
· A taxi driver to pay for your cab fare
· A model to eat greasy buffalo wings
· A professional football player to buy a subscription to Cosmo
· A college student to paint your living room
After five minutes of writing, my students shared their clever answers. I told them they totally understood the rhetorical appeals without previously realizing it. They all had just successfully considered their audience and purpose while using specific resources and strategies to make their appeals.
It’s incredibly rewarding to influence the ways students think about and approach learning. When you show them you believe in their talents, they can surprise you every day and offer a new dynamic to your classroom.
If a student seems overwhelmed in our full classroom meeting, I strive to set up individual conferences that help them write with one-on-one instruction. It’s important that I am consistently learning new ways to approach and deliver material in my classroom whether that be through class activities, asking students to post weekly on a blog or other social media websites, or creating a piece of artwork. If students say they absolutely hate grammar in one of my courses, I try to approach this topic in an engaging way—by assigning “grammar groups” where students can teach the class in their own way. Students can choose a style or grammar convention they’re most interested in and prepare a presentation that can display a comic strip, a written song, dance, video, a visual aid, or other distributable materials. It’s incredible what students can come up with when you give them creative freedom—I often see their negative views change through their newfound passions or from witnessing other successful student presentations.
Writing can be terrifying— I feel that fear every day when I, too, sit down to write. I want my students to know there are ways to push past that fear. I’ve enjoyed creating daily freewriting exercises in my classes, which help students get excited about writing when they come to the classroom. If the freewrite isn’t automatically on the board when students walk into class, they ask where it is—that question alone is rewarding! Students don’t hold onto as much fear when they can communicate their ideas without worrying about each grammar mistake.
I love being challenged by my students—I love how they constantly make me assess the way I deliver my material. I don’t want to get comfortable in one particular method of delivery because I find my students engage the material in different ways.
Just recently, a composition class told me they couldn’t stand the idea of learning and writing about the rhetorical appeals. I challenged myself by making them a writing prompt that week. It read,
What if you had to convince…?
· A nun to go to a nightclub
· A taxi driver to pay for your cab fare
· A model to eat greasy buffalo wings
· A professional football player to buy a subscription to Cosmo
· A college student to paint your living room
After five minutes of writing, my students shared their clever answers. I told them they totally understood the rhetorical appeals without previously realizing it. They all had just successfully considered their audience and purpose while using specific resources and strategies to make their appeals.
It’s incredibly rewarding to influence the ways students think about and approach learning. When you show them you believe in their talents, they can surprise you every day and offer a new dynamic to your classroom.
Last semester, in Fall 2014, it was exciting to see my student’s evaluations from my Film and Culture class because many of them recognized that I wanted to help and invest in their success.