Self-evaluation can be a good opportunity for students to feel empowered. Self-evaluation can become a routine task for learners who evaluate some of their essays, projects, and assignments. I will ask students to assess their performance over a more extended period, such as a week or even a semester. Self-reflection and self-evaluation have a positive effect on students’ accountability and sense of autonomy, as well as their intrinsic motivation (Ormrod & Jones, 2017). It is important to help students develop specific grading rubrics. Although some learners can assess their performance adequately, some may need help identifying the central points to concentrate on when evaluating task completion or performance.
Assessment is an essential aspect of learning, so in addition to self-evaluation, students should be offered an opportunity to provide feedback regarding their teacher’s performance. Students may assess instruction, assessment, and assignments per se. Learners will understand that their voices are heard and valued, so their motivation will enhance. This technique is beneficial for the development of effective teaching methods. I will be able to understand students’ needs and learning profiles better when learners provide their opinions on certain aspects of teaching and learning. This kind of discussion is a way to evaluate students’ progress in a non-controlling way.
Writing argumentative essays is an important task that can illustrate the usefulness of learning. I will offer topics that relate to students’ life, such as employment choice, education value, and so on. Students working on arguments and implementing research will gain knowledge on some academic aspects and vital areas of social life. At that, I will always draw students’ attention to the practical use of the acquired knowledge and skills. For example, I will state that the arguments used in their essays can help students in particular life situations (when choosing a college, discussing plans with parents, and writing applications).
1. The establishment of academic goals is a crucial task student should implement (Ormrod & Jones, 2017). I will encourage students to set goals for the year and the semester. We will consider some objectives for a week and even for a particular project. This practice will help students see their progress and shape their behavior accordingly.
2. When working on projects, I will encourage students to divide the scope of work based on each student’s preparedness and willingness. They will set objectives and certain timelines, as well as expected outcomes. At the end of each project, I will ask students to evaluate each teammate’s input. The entire group will be able to assess their success and the value of each person’s contribution. I will allow more autonomy once students feel empowered and adequately prepared to complete the tasks.
Situational interest can be increased in diverse ways, and discussing the topics of interest is the most vivid technique to make students emotionally engaged. As for other methods, summarizing can become the task of illustrating the ways to get students involved. I will offer a game where the winner chooses the topic (from a suggested list) to discuss next. The game will include summarizing: students will receive texts to be summarized at the initial stage. The second stage will involve writing short texts and summarizing each other’s writings. The scores will be provided for each key detail mentioned by students and detained for every missed critical component of the text.
It has been acknowledged that extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are essential for high academic performance (Ormrod & Jones, 2017). Students learn more effectively if they have an individual interest in a topic discussed or an assignment they are working on. I will address my students’ needs by choosing the areas of their interest. For example, when talking about new vocabulary, I will use classic literature extracts (novels and poems), popular music (including rap), and TV shows. I will ask students to write different types of texts depending on their interests.
The feeling of relatedness is one of the people’s needs, as noted by Maslow, as well as other researchers (Ormrod & Jones, 2017). The teacher should display their care, which will have a positive effect on student’s motivation and performance. I will always provide feedback that is not confined to correcting mistakes. I will draw students’ attention to the gaps to be addressed to achieve higher academic results that may extend the boundaries of my subject. I will also discuss some aspects of my students’ lives that are not directly related to my discipline. I will make sure that the relationship I develop with my students is professional and beneficial for learners.
I would use some teaching techniques my teachers employed while I was at school. Of course, I will modify them to make them appropriate to the current context. For example, I had a teacher who tended to ask high-performers to assess students’ essays and similar works. We counted scores, but they had no effect and were even hardly discussed. It seemed to be a routine task with no practical value. I will ask students to evaluate their peers’ work, but I will ask them to justify their assessment. The results will affect the overall grade of all students, and some of the assignments and reviews will be discussed. I believe the use of some techniques I found practical or partially effective in my practice will help me develop as a professional. Educators must use effective methods and their own academic experiences to be able to address their current students’ needs.
Reference
Ormrod, J. E., & Jones, B. (2017). Essentials of educational psychology: Big ideas to guide effective teaching. Pearson Education.