Let Them Take Control

Ramsay, J. D. (2015). LET THEM TAKE CONTROL. Reading Today, 32(6), 38-39.

Julie Ramsay states in her article that as teachers we often reflect on our teaching and seek out ways to improve our practice. She goes on to discuss that in her own reflections, they often lead her to her own school-aged memories of anxiety and an eagerness to achieve good grades. Today's students are not all that different. Julie goes on to state that she decided to open up discussion in her classroom with her students on expectations and grades. Her students stated that they often weren't sure why there being assessed or how they were being assessed. Her students weren't taking ownership of their academic tasks because they saw no value in what they were doing. Julie goes on to state that by opening up the conversation she was able to make changes. She now has her students dissect standards, asking themselves what do I need to know or be able to demonstrate to show mastery of this standard. By giving students control, they are taking ownership of their work and learning. 

 In my own reflection of my teaching practices and earliest school memories, I too aim to ease my students' anxiety about school. I stride for my classroom to be a safe community for my students where they can feel encouraged to try new things and make mistakes. In reflection of Julie's article, I see I have an area of improvement to make. On the daily I'm collecting data toward my students' Individual Education Plans and documenting. This data and documentation is critical to allow me to report on student progress and to guide my instruction. However, when collecting this data I don't always share this data with my students. I praise and cheer for my students when they advance a reading level or make progress towards these goals but I don't always invite my students in to their goals. My older students grades 3-5, we conference on academic goals. We create graphs to track progress and set short-term goals to achieve their goals. In reflection of this article, this fall I will start this conferencing with all my students. Empowering them to see what their goals are and showing the connection to what we do everyday to achieve these goals. 

Juli