I’ve been thinking about whether to help my Literacy students with prompting, and with the actual answers during an assessment task. On task rubrics, there’s usually a section where the teacher checks if the student completed the task with no help, some help, or a lot of help. Last year, I went back and forth between aiding students and leaving them on their own. I’m not just thinking of my role during the tasks. The stronger students helped the weaker ones. At first, I was okay with that, but then somewhere in January, I told the students not to help one another.
Two Different Approaches
The class understood my decision. However, some of my colleagues say that it’s better for weak learners’ self-confidence to get help during an assessment than not to. I understand my colleagues’ reasoning. I’m not against it. Their main point is that we want to encourage the students and keep them coming back. It doesn’t hurt if the teacher or another student helps a struggling student. That student won’t get a C for Complete, but either a B, for Beginning, or D, for Developing. It’s better that student finishes the test with a sense of accomplishment and support.
Like I said, I don’t disagree with the helping approach. It goes without saying we support our students. But at what point does helping hinder a student’s progress, like keeping training wheels on a bike when they no longer serve their purpose?
Taking Responsibility
I decided to take the training wheels off and get strict with assessments, which meant, no helping, not by me, and not by the students. Each student had to do their own work as best they could. Overall, the class was in agreement. The students saw that I was treating them as serious students and that the tasks were important. They also knew that if there was no assistance during a test, then they had to really concentrate during the week for the task on Friday. Besides learning whatever language point we were focusing on that week, I also want them to take responsibility for their own learning.
To be clear, I set students up for success. For one thing, there are no surprises. The material on a task is the same material we practiced during the week. I use the same kinds of activities, fonts, and layout for the handouts during classes as I do for the tasks. In fact, oftentimes, the task is a skill-using activity from earlier in the week. As well, before the task, we review for at least an hour. We use material similar to the task, or even the task itself – I don’t tell them that, though. No surprises. The students know what to expect and what to do. Well, most of them.
Some Considerations
disabilities and trauma, particularly students with no short-term memory? What about weaker students’ self-esteem when they see their classmates finishing and doing the task with no problems? How do I think those struggling students feel? Finally, the approaches, strategies, and techniques we use depend on the situation, whether it’s a particular class or an individual student. The one thing I aim for, no matter how I go about it, is to bring out the best in my students. Sometimes, a tough challenge is what’s called for. Our students are resilient and determined. Students who get a few Bs and Ds, and who struggle with tasks, one day start achieving Cs.
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