Monday, October 27, 2014

Teach Students to Monitor Themselves

Here is a quick excerpt from Discipline Survival Guide for the Secondary Teacher that is appropriate for this time of the school year. By now, we are past the initial stages of getting to know our students and setting the expectations of our class for them. At this point in the school year, it is time to help our students move toward self-discipline!

One of the most powerful techniques for teachers who want to direct their students to become self-disciplined is to teach students to monitor themselves. When students monitor their own behavior, the responsibility for improvement and success rightfully shifts from teacher to student.

            When your students learn to monitor themselves, you no longer have to assume the role of overbearing adult in charge of a room full of students who have perfected the art of learned helplessness. Instead you become a learning partner with your students. Below you will find a list of strategies or activities that you can adapt to help your students stay on track by monitoring their own progress.

·       Offer rubrics in advance of an assignment

·       Give students checklists of tasks to be accomplished

·       Ask students to reflect on their learning or on their work habits

·       Set and work toward a goal

·       Make  frequent progress checks

·       Allow students to see their grades at least weekly

·       Encourage students to chart their grades

·       Have students break assignments into smaller parts and setting their own due dates for each small part

·       Give students a syllabus so that they can plan their work

·       Have students complete admit tickets with their plans for the day’s work

·       Ask students to assess their own strengths and weaknesses

·       Ask students to keep a list of what they have learned and what they still need to know in a unit of study.