This semester I increased the stickers and positive comments on work. I also became more conscious of the language I used in class. Rather than be negative towards students I praised the good they were doing or the good their peers were doing to encourage them. A little thing called behavior narration, trust me, it works. Something else I was told this semester to do is assume positive expectations of your students. Rather than jump on them for not doing their work right away, go over and ask what pencil are they using, what problem are they solving, what page are they reading on, etc. This was called flood with them questions. Trust me, they get so overwhelmed answering all your questions they get started right away.
Starting this semester I am rewarding students progress. So often in class I have only focused on the end goal, did we reach mastery and neglected the process it takes to get there. Starting today actually, I am praising all students that grew 10% on their test from the previous test. I am going to give them a small prize but also have them explain to the class what they did to get that growth. I am hoping to encourage the idea that growth is important to reach our goals. Also have student acknowledge there are certain actions in class that do really translate into success. Rather then me sharing that, let them hear it from their peers.
There are a million ways to reward students. As it really is so important. Plus it is just more fun as a teacher to celebrate the success than the correct the wrong. I know I also need to work on being more positive in my class. Even though we are already a few weeks in, it is never to late to start a new procedure.
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