Many of my students have a phobia of getting up in front of the class to work a problem on the board. Hopefully, with the student completing a problem on the Mimio pad at their desk, it will help with self-confidence.
We have a large elementary school in Mississippi where most of our students are considered low socioeconomic status.
Many of our students have issues with self-confidence and do not like to get up in front of the class to work a problem on the board. I believe one of the main problems with our students is the fact that they do not have the parental support that is needed to help them feel secure about themselves. One of my main goals each year is to help each and every student feel welcomed and feel confident with what they learn in my classroom.
My Project
Although some students do not like to get up in front of the classroom, I use this strategy to make sure students are competent in the objective that I am teaching that day. I have the students put problems on the board and then explain how they obtained their answer. This gives the student an opportunity to explain his/her own way of how he/she worked the problem. This also proves to me whether or not the student is competent in the objective or if he/she needs more instruction. Also, it is found to be true that another student may understand the concept better coming from one of his/her peers. By using the Mimio pad at the student's desk, he/she can still complete the task of putting the problem on the board and he/she may explain the problem sitting from his/her desk ultimately eliminating the fear of being in front of the class. Using the Mimio pad a few times, this will give the students the confidence in Math to get up in front of the classroom.
This project will not only be a fun way for the students to do their work, but it will also help students realize that they can become more confident in their work.
By starting off with using the Mimio pad from their desk, the student can feel more and more comfortable with what he/she is doing and eventually get them to where they can get up in front of the class to explain the problem. This will also help them to have the confidence to deal with real-world situations when becoming adults.
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