Shifting the Paradigm
Written by: Shannon Renkly and Katherine Bertolini
Reflection:
After reading this article I learned the difference between Deficit vs. Asset Models. Looking back on my many years of schooling I can see how important it is for teachers to use the asset model. When teaching a large number of students, it's easy to pick out the flaws or the things they aren't doing correctly. While on the other hand teachers should be assisting the students with their struggles and focusing on what they can do. This shift in teaching would more effectively promote student growth and offer a more positive, proactive, and inclusive school culture. When students answer a question incorrectly or feel as if they did something wrong it is more than likely that they won't answer that question again. If we instead applaud the child for effort and communication it will encourage them to try again even if they answered the prompt inaccurately.
Coming from someone who dreaded school as a young girl, the only thing that could make it worse would be getting to school and having a teacher you dislike for the entirety of the day. My 4th grade teacher in elementary school was very strict, not very lenient, and most certainly very boring. She used the method of popsicle sticks in which every student's name was on one. Each lesson she would pull a stick and that specific child would have to answer the question that was being asked. For someone like me who was very shy this was awful. I would get so anxious and really hope that my name would never get called for the prime reason of humiliation. If we answered the question wrong she would automatically assume we were not paying attention which was not always the case. Sometimes the students simply just didn't know the answer. She would question us or even state “No, you should know this by now.” I always remembered this teacher because she made me keep this specific thought process in mind… never be like this if I were to become a teacher. Instead I will praise the child for effort and then explain why it was not what they stated. I will ask children things I know they are confident in so when it’s their turn to get called on they won't feel as shy to answer the question.
I agree with what you said about the fear of being called on in class and being humiliated. I also had this struggle when I was younger and I feel like when teachers put pressure on having the correct answer when it should be praised for just simply trying.
ReplyDeleteI understand a teacher using the deficit model can make school a dreadful experience.
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