Carrie’s TEBlog

            I thought that the “Supporting Students’ Confidence as Learners” was a great article. I agree with what it talks about in regards to motivation and goal setting. I have always thought that goal setting is important. Also looking for ways to keep students motivated is an extremely important task for high school teachers. I think that high schools students are extremely hard to keep motivated because they are so wrapped up in the other parts of school and dealing with personal issues. The article had some interesting things to help with this. In particular with goal setting, it made some good points. Students need to set reasonable goals. I think often times teachers set high standards thinking it will help their students work hard, but it only aggravates students who can not achieve them. Every student works at different levels, so different goals need to be established. Some students struggle with certain subjects even when they work as hard as the good students. These students need to have goals that are real to them. The article talks about how students can achieve more if they see themselves as controlling the outcome. Teachers are viewed as the determining factor in a student’s grades. The idea then is to help students see that if they work hard and continue to do so, then they will improve their skills and grades. The goal needs to be real to them and in their control. Everyone, especially young adults, want to have some control in their lives. As teachers we have to show them they are in charge of putting in the effort and staying on task.

            One other thing I agree a lot from the article is letting the students help teach the class. I had a calculus teacher in high school that would always have students solve the examples. He would allow students to answer other students’ questions. When you can explain something to someone else, then you know what you are doing. Also this helps teach teamwork. It helps students build ways to support others. Students relate better to each other, so it is easier for them to maybe explain something. As a teacher it is important to see that maybe you’re not reaching the students, but another student might have the right wording to make it clearer. It should be a collaborative effort in high school. The students are old enough they should be learning to learn on their own. This is a skill they can always use in the real world.