WEEK+7+Who+Are+Your+Students?

WEEK 7 WHO ARE YOUR STUDENTS?  This week’s lecture we had guest speaker Tanya Fitzgerald. She opened with a thought-provoking scenario. She showed us a number next to a child’s name. It was pondered and agreed upon that it was the child’s IQ. This thought was also agreed upon by the teacher in the scenario who now knew what to expect from the child. So what was the catch? It had nothing to do with IQ, rather simply their locker number. So by assuming this information are we limiting what the child can do? The lecturer also later linked this with the ‘flee experiment’ idea in later discussion. Where the flee was placed in a jar sealed firmly at the top. When the seal was removed the flee could only jump as high as where the seal was placed previously. So by implementing and enforcing limited expectations we are in fact depriving the individual the ability to advance. I thought they were excellent metaphors to give a well-rounded grasp of the concept. So while it’s vital to give aims for the child it is important to be mindful that they are not static, but rather can be altered to correlate with the child’s development. Another important point I noted was the notion of appreciating individuality. Where instead of formulating a ‘one size fits all’ approach, an emphasis is placed on engaging these issues. The two ideas are both extremely valid and important to keep in my mind when assessing and planning for children. -SARAH (7/5/2009)

As teachers the first question we will always ask ourselves and be challenged by during our careers as Teachers is Who are our students? Everything we do depends on this vital question and for our students to get the most of our teaching we need to pay very close attention to this very question. After all, this is the reason why most of us become teachers to, find out who our students are? so that we can understand there individuality in order to asses the best possible teaching strategies for them. As teachers it is vital for us not only to get to know our students but to be opened to there individuality and to acknowledge the experience that different children bring in order for us to learn and to also become better teachers. I will end by a quote I picked up from this lecture by Tanya Fitzgerald that I really enjoyed “It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honour him/ her for what he/she is”. Hermann Hesse - KRYSSIA - (15/5/09)

Sarah, I do agree with your point of accepting and appreciating individuality and not taking a one size fits all approach. The increase in diverse cultures that are entering Australia today will be evident in our own classrooms. We cannot take a one size fits all approach because of this. Us as teachers need to recognise and cater for the difference in culture, religions and backgrounds to be able to know our students on an individual level.

In our future classrooms to ensure a happy, effective learning environment we need to ensure us as teachers and our individual students accept the diversity and complexity in the classroom. As suggested in the lecture a good way to understand our students and the level of difference in the classroom is to celebrate diverse backgrounds and countries. This can be achieved early on in the year by doing inquiry based learning on the different countries in the classroom, discussing the different cultures and encouraging acceptance. This can be a great way for children to treat everyone equally and for teachers to get to know students individually. Once we establish a basic understanding of individual students we can then plan, teach and modify teaching strategies to meet individual needs. - BELINDA 19/06/2009

Sarah, Kryssia, Belinda: you have all made some very astute observations about this week’s topic. Never assume! This was brought to our attention at the commencement of the lecture as Sarah explained. Making assumptions is unproduction, and demonstrates prejudice; although we have all made them at one point or another. Though I do not want to make assumptions, I know that it may happen without even being aware of it. However, by being active in understanding our students, and ourselves we can avoid making these destructive assumptions!

Russell Bishop highlighted the significance of understanding our students. As Belinda mentioned, a great way to do this is to celebrate our backgrounds, interests, beliefs and culture. We were very lucky to have Tanya share some of these strategies with us. Kryssia suggested that this information is also valuable in order to create a stimulating, safe and effective classroom. I completely agree; we need to know who they are as individuals in order to provide the best possible learning environment for them. This is also emphasised in the document: ‘Inclusive schools are effective schools.’ By recognising and responding to our students, we can offer quality educational strategies within a place where they feel welcome, valued and cared for. - MEGAN 21/06/2009