Weak students exist in each class, and they are pity and problem in the same time.
Weak students cant’ follow their teacher and their classmates during the class and they make the teacher worried about them and in a nervous situation because of their situation and their noise.
They don’t understand what’s going on during the class, they can’t find what to do, and the teacher has to teach them and complete the curriculum!!
Teachers have to make achievements, have to teach their student well, but what should they do with the weak students???????
Last month a supervisor attended my class and she was very happy with my work and my visit report mark was about 4 out of 5!
When I finished the class I sat with her to discuss the class and she complimented me so much but her comments were on the weak students in my class!
She said I enjoyed your class, you prepare and teach in an excellent way and you show your students teaching movies from the internet , you students are very interested with what you do and what you show them etc. but you should pay more attention for the weak students!! ( in my mind I was asking myself HOW, HOW ??? I am not a mind maker!!), then I said, mam I do my best to help them, but there is no obvious improvement in their level!
She said give them easy tasks, and praise them for their simple responses!!
In my point of view that is not enough and I think that supervisors know that weak students are problem for their teachers.
I am convinced that we should do more work for them and that they have the right to learn, but the question is HOW?? Ok it’s the teacher duty to teach them and he/she must pay more attention for them and they are in need for help but I still ask how and I still convinced that weak students are the biggest major problem in the process of teaching.
I wish we can help them and I wish Allah to help us.
Ahmad
Weak students cant’ follow their teacher and their classmates during the class and they make the teacher worried about them and in a nervous situation because of their situation and their noise.
They don’t understand what’s going on during the class, they can’t find what to do, and the teacher has to teach them and complete the curriculum!!
Teachers have to make achievements, have to teach their student well, but what should they do with the weak students???????
Last month a supervisor attended my class and she was very happy with my work and my visit report mark was about 4 out of 5!
When I finished the class I sat with her to discuss the class and she complimented me so much but her comments were on the weak students in my class!
She said I enjoyed your class, you prepare and teach in an excellent way and you show your students teaching movies from the internet , you students are very interested with what you do and what you show them etc. but you should pay more attention for the weak students!! ( in my mind I was asking myself HOW, HOW ??? I am not a mind maker!!), then I said, mam I do my best to help them, but there is no obvious improvement in their level!
She said give them easy tasks, and praise them for their simple responses!!
In my point of view that is not enough and I think that supervisors know that weak students are problem for their teachers.
I am convinced that we should do more work for them and that they have the right to learn, but the question is HOW?? Ok it’s the teacher duty to teach them and he/she must pay more attention for them and they are in need for help but I still ask how and I still convinced that weak students are the biggest major problem in the process of teaching.
I wish we can help them and I wish Allah to help us.
Ahmad
Nice article Ahmad
ReplyDeleteIf it gives you a comfort, we all have week students in our classes. The curve of human intelligence might be a sufficient proof to this. That is why it’s important not to be frustrated about it.
What I think we should do in this regard is to analyze their weakness, make a reasonable plan that suits their needs and then carry it out. I know " it seems hypothetical ". But let me tell you something; I have done it and I'm certainly satisfied. But satisfaction might vary from one to another, that’s why I suggest not to expect instant immediate results because that yields frustration.
Grading the language used in the classroom, sequencing instructions, monitoring and constant evaluation are fundamental strategies in lifting up week students. Anyway we'll always have low achievers in our classes but they who would make us taste success to the most when getting better!!
Thank you Sultan for telling us about your experience. But i strongly believe that one of the best ways to help low-achievers becom better is "peer coaching". Students prefer to learn from their classsmstes and sometimes they learn from each other better tht they learn from the teacher. However, this should be monitored and guided by the teacher. It should not be students' own work!! The teacher identifies the students, puts a plan, prepares activities, choose best students and identify the roles and monitors, guide and follows up.
ReplyDeleteThere will always be feed back on every step we take in our life. Try this,give yourself feed back and see how you might modify it to fit your students.
This way, if well-implemented, saves time!!
sure zainab:) i missed that one :(... U always cover up 4 me . Thanks zainab:)
ReplyDeletenice article Ahmad
ReplyDeleteand believe me u did a good job and what is better is that ur insistence to do more
believe me we're all trying to develpop the ways that we should use with weak and sometimes passive students
what Sultab said is a nice experience and if we share our experiences it will be better
Tahani
Dear Zeinab:
ReplyDeleteI really liked ur idea about " peer coaching"
and that what i and my colleage Ryman ( u know her) do and u wo'nt imagine the results..great
thank u for sharing us ur ideas
and looking forward to hearing from u more and more
Tahani
Good topic Ahmed .I think we all suffer from such students .Their weakness is not necessarily our fault .However , we shouldn't feel frustrated .There's always something we can do .For example , why don't you give extra lessons .You could also provide them with worksheets that help them read correctly .I think the most problematic issue here is that most of those students cannot read at all .They wish they could .So why don't dedicate some time to teach them how to read .You can also enhance them for every simple reaction they do towards learning.As Zeinab said , you could have pair work or team work in your lessons .That really works .
ReplyDeleteYes, very good topic, Ahmed. I think it is important as a teacher to KNOW that there are weaker students in any group. I think it is also important not to, as a teacher, blame yourself. I deal with "weak" students at our college on a daily basis. I am the one they turn to if they need extra help beyond what they are getting in the classroom. On occasion, all the students really need is tutoring - extra work. But, nine times out of ten, I would have to say that what these students truly need is the opportunity to learn "life-Management skills." (That's what we call it in America.) They need to learn time-management because no matter where we live in this entire world, each of us only have 168 hours a week. They need to learn how to be "in the here now." In other words, they must learn how to focus on whatever task they are doing exactly in the moment they are doing it. These things are difficult to acheive and it takes practice, over and over again. Along with these, other "life-Management skills" include study skills,note-taking skills, and test-taking skills. We offer a class at our college that introduces students to all these things. The key, though, is for the student to never quit practicing to perfect these skills.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, group work is an excellent way to go in the classroom. Pair the stronger students with the weaker ones. This way, everyone benefits. It's amazing what some students can teach other students! The weaker ones get stronger and the stronger ones get a taste of making that difference.
Thanks for sharing!
Dear Rachel
ReplyDeleteThanks sooo much for your tips for us,
I'd like to ask you some questions?
How many classes does the teacher give weekly in the USA?
We give 26!
How many students are there in your classes in the USA?
We have at leas 32!!
How many units do you have to finish in the semester ? and what happened if you didn't finish the curriculum ?
We have at least 8 units in each class and if we don't finish them a disaster will happen!! and supervisor or teacher will for give the teacher.
Bye Rachel and thank you again
Dear Rachel
ReplyDeleteThanks sooo much for your tips for us,
I'd like to ask you some questions to know our situations in the UNRWA's schools?
How many classes does the teacher give weekly in the USA?
We give 26!
How many students are there in your classes in the USA?
We have at leas 32!!
How many units do you have to finish in the semester ? and what happened if you didn't finish the curriculum ?
We have at least 8 units in semester and if we don't finish them a disaster will happen!! and the supervisor or headteacher will not forgive the teacher.
Bye Rachel and thank you again