Student Participation

Student Participation

Institution:

Name of Student:

Student participation in the classroom can greatly improve the academic abilities of such a student. Its effectiveness is derived from the idea that it improves the attention span of the learner thus reducing the chances of the learner getting distracted while the class is in session. When student participation is met with instructions that meet the diverse needs of the learner and a teacher who collaborates with the parents then the learners are bound to succeed academically. Mr. Jones should ensure that his grading methods are equitable; he addresses the diverse learning needs of the learners and that he collaborates with the parents of the learners to help serve them better

Equitable Grading Issues

Mr. Jones needs to make various considerations when he is enforcing his grading criterion in his class. Equitable grading of the students greatly depends on the considerations that he makes. He has a student in class with a pronounced stutter. This means that the student is not able to speak with the same eloquence and clarity as that of a normal same age student. The teacher therefore needs to go easy on him. In as much as Mr. Jones needs to treat the student differently, the student and the rest of the class should not feel like he is being accorded special care. The grades allocated to the student should focus on the efforts of the learner and not the success of the learner in answering questions and participating during class. Mr. Jones should not focus his attention on him and forget the rest of the class as the rest of the class may feel alienated.

Additionally, there is a student who has just arrived to the United States from Bolivia and is learning English. This is a classic example of an ELL student. The foreign student does not have sufficient skills in the English Language and can therefore not be able to communicate with the same eloquence as the rest of the class. When grading such a student, the teacher should consider the fact that the student is still learning the English language. Therefore, some slight grammar errors should be corrected but overlooked. The other student in Mr. Jones’ class is extremely shy and does not want to be the center of attention in any setting. The teacher should encourage the student to participate and then assess the student’s performance in the previous week with his performance in the current week. The grading of such a student will therefore be based on the improvements noted and not particularly their current participation levels. Mr. Jones should also involve all students in class to make sure that some are not feeling uncomfortable and are becoming increasingly alienated from the rest of the class.

Diversity in the Classroom

There are a plethora of factors that Mr. Jones should consider when structuring instruction to meet the diverse needs of the students. Culture is a primary factor that must be considered. Culture to some extent controls the ability of a learner to comprehend what is being taught in class and apply such concepts in real life. He should not ignore the current learning culture of his students but rather incorporate it when coming up with the most effective teaching methods. Diversity of the cultures of the learners should also be considered as key pointers such as ethnicity defines people, to some extent as well.

Mr. Jones should also consider the learning abilities of the students and use this information as a directive on the types of instructions to be followed. Fast learners can be able to follow some of the instructions that the weak learners may not be able to. In order for the class to move together as one unit, their learning abilities must be integrated to ensure that the right instructions are issued in the classroom. The ‘gifted’ students may face some challenges in class and may not be able to observe some instructions in the classroom. Mr. Jones should not be indifferent to the idea that such students have needs too and their needs should be met as the needs of the rest of the class are being met.

The current requirements of the curriculum and the legislations passed in the state should also be considered (Lyttelton, L., 2007). The students are mostly assessed based on their abilities to comprehend the concepts as outlined in the curriculum. Mr. Jones should therefore ensure that he abides by the syllabus and that the instructions are helpful in covering the various concepts that have been included in the curriculum. The instructions should also meet the current teaching standards and should not fall short.

Parent/Teacher Collaboration

It is important that the parents and Mr. Jones collaborate on behalf of the children and with sensitivity to their cultural diversity and learning needs. One of the ways in which this objective might be achieved is through holding parent/teacher meetings to address the issues that concern the teacher and the parents (Nichols, 2005). During these meetings, the parents would raise the cultural issues and the concerns that they have about the learning needs of their children. Mr. Jones will address them and together with the parents formulate the way forward that is in the best interest of the learners.

Mr. Jones could also collaborate with the parents to organize cultural weeks. Such an event will create a platform for the learners and the parents as well to get to learn more about the cultures that are currently foreign to them. With the knowledge that will be gathered they will all be able to respect the cultures of the others. Activities such as cultural songs and traditional dancing may be used to pass this information. Dressing codes such as the Indian customary dressing may be used during such an event. Documentaries and movies that are rich in culture may be watched to pass the message to the participants during the cultural week. The learners will greatly benefit from such an event.

It is common knowledge that learners are freer with their parents than they are with their teachers (Public Broadcasting Service). Mr. Jones can therefore collaborate with the parents to hold meetings with the students so as to get a grasp of their learning experience. The highs and lows should be brought forward during such meetings. The information gathered should then be passed to Mr. Jones so that he gets to build on the highs and corrects the lows. This will result in an improvement of the effectiveness of the learning process.

In summary, Mr. Jones should ensure that his grading methods are equitable, he addresses the diverse learning needs of the learners and that he collaborates with the parents of the learners to help serve them better. He can ensure equitable grading in class by considering the ELL, the shy students and punctuation stutters. The instructions issued in class should meet the various requirements that help improve the quality of learning. Holding meetings with parents, cultural weeks and parents holding meetings with the learners are the various ways in which he can collaborate with the parents.

References

Lyttelton, L. (n.d.) Letters of the late Lord Lyttelton. Internet Archive. Retrieved from http://archive.org/stream/lettersoflatelor00lyttuoft#page/n9/mode/2upNichols, S. L., Glass, G. V., & Berliner, D. C. (2005). High-stakes testing and student achievement problems for the No Child Left Behind Act. National Education Policy Center. Retrieved from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/high-stakes-testing-and-student-achievement-problems-no-child-left-behind-actPublic Broadcasting Service (n.d). People and Discoveries: Charles Davenport. PBS.org. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aso/databank/entries/bhdave.html