Connecting to your students' emotions is a great way to make learning stick. There are so many ways to tap into this memory lane, but one of my favorites is "the alternate personality". I have used their love of humor, certain television personalities, and their interests to create characters that teach certain aspects of the curriculum.
My students were struggling to understand long division. I taught it in a variety of ways, but always got the same result. Low growth, and no mastery. I began thinking, what am I missing? Why aren't they engaged with this learning? The answer? They weren't connecting with me emotionally while I was teaching the concept.
Out of this realization, Debbie Division was born. She doesn't come to teach them, but rather to LEARN from them. She pops up from time to time, to challenge them to help her with her mathematical problems. Her humor, sass, and real life applications of Math have changed the way my students feel about the subject.
They're all division Masters now as well, improving an amazing 80% in one week's time after Debbie appeared.
Debbie is fun and exciting, but she isn't just novelty. She introduces the students to the idea that math is a real world skill. She challenges them to use what they know to teach her, and help her solve her problems. She gives a purpose to learning, and allows me to share a side of my personality with them that I normally can't.
I challenge you to find your inner Debbie, and connect emotionally with your students.
After several weeks away, Debbie visited today to learn some new information about triangles so that she could pass her entrance exam to Technical College. The students worked in groups to compete for the privilege of being Debbie's "Triangle Tutor". Their mission was to effectively keep her and her friend on task, and teach her how to find the area of a triangle.
The best part? 99% passing on the formative on the area of triangles.
That's AMAZING, 503!
My students were struggling to understand long division. I taught it in a variety of ways, but always got the same result. Low growth, and no mastery. I began thinking, what am I missing? Why aren't they engaged with this learning? The answer? They weren't connecting with me emotionally while I was teaching the concept.
Out of this realization, Debbie Division was born. She doesn't come to teach them, but rather to LEARN from them. She pops up from time to time, to challenge them to help her with her mathematical problems. Her humor, sass, and real life applications of Math have changed the way my students feel about the subject.
They're all division Masters now as well, improving an amazing 80% in one week's time after Debbie appeared.
Debbie is fun and exciting, but she isn't just novelty. She introduces the students to the idea that math is a real world skill. She challenges them to use what they know to teach her, and help her solve her problems. She gives a purpose to learning, and allows me to share a side of my personality with them that I normally can't.
I challenge you to find your inner Debbie, and connect emotionally with your students.
After several weeks away, Debbie visited today to learn some new information about triangles so that she could pass her entrance exam to Technical College. The students worked in groups to compete for the privilege of being Debbie's "Triangle Tutor". Their mission was to effectively keep her and her friend on task, and teach her how to find the area of a triangle.
The best part? 99% passing on the formative on the area of triangles.
That's AMAZING, 503!