Keeping Focus On the Students
Keeping focus on the students is most definitely the key into the success of students. It's so much easier for a student to excell if the teacher is only concerned about the student's success and if students aren't doing well in your class it's a good time to reconsider a different approach to the teach method to ensure prosperity of the student.
With a small class it is easier to see the different personalities and study skills of the students. One student I call the road runner because she reads a case study real fast, skipping info and not reading all the way to the end. Then when the code is wrong, she gets mad, but it always reflects the fact that she didn't read all the way through. We make a joke of it. Another student hates modifiers, so I will specifically ask her to do a case study that has a modifier in it which makes her use her knowledge of that subject. The class will ask her modifier questions just to make her mad. But then it becomes a learning moment.
I feel that smaller classes can create a better learning environment for all students.
Absolutely. I have taught the same subject to two classes one half the size of the other. We instantly built a cohesive type of rapport that kept the class focused and engaged. We also just had fun learning; mainly because I was able to focus on the collective and individual needs of the students. And they were so appreciative.
Joan,
Aren't these kinds of classes fun to teach? You can just see the learning and interaction that is going on with the students and you are excited about coming to the class each time it meets.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
