Getting To Know Your Students: Searching For the Spark In Each One
Teachers often get swept up in student achievement. That’s totally understandable. It’s one of our primary jobs. But teachers also have an obligation to foster student passion. When students pursue their passion, their spark, they’re engaged.
That spark is hidden in some students. Others don’t even realize they have one. You can help.
In his book, Hacking Engagement, veteran teacher James Sturtevant shares 50 teacher tools that will make students love your class. These 50 unique, exciting, and actionable tips and tools that you can apply right now.
Each of the fifty hacks begins with a thorough explanation of a problem that teachers commonly face. Then offers a detailed solution that anyone can easily use to engage students.
Each chapter concludes by giving you concrete steps to implement the solution the next day.
Search For The Spark
Become an undercover investigator. Begin your investigation early in the semester. Assign various types of hands-on activities that free you to cruise around and ask all sorts of questions, some pertaining to the activity, some geared to learning about student interests, and others focused on getting to know kids better:
- How do you like this activity?
- What’s your favorite class?
- Who’s your favorite teacher?
- What would you rather be doing?
- What do you like to do on the weekends?
- What’s the first thing you do when you get home from school?
- What do you do well?
- How would you improve this assignment?
- How could we expand this assignment?
As soon as you see or sense that little spark, try to confirm it: “You seem to enjoy watching YouTube. For our next unit, would you like to create a documentary about the Arab/Israeli conflict and then post it online?”
It will be evident immediately if you have struck gold. If not, keep searching for the spark. The potential payoffs are huge. Through observation and friendly interrogation, you can find student sparks. Kids are intensely engaged when they pursue their passions.
What You Can Do Tomorrow
- Create an activity that provides many options for expressing understanding. Allow students to choose their method for expression. This will be an excellent first step in finding the spark.
- Promote an example. Tell a story of a past student who thrived once he or she started chasing a passion. Do this frequently.
- Become a private investigator. The subtle nature of your investigation is important in finding the spark. Students don’t like being involuntary lab rats. Just observe and question in a friendly, casual way.
Fostering Engagement
Once you discover the spark, it’ll shape how you motivate and interact with students.
Finding a student’s spark and then exploiting that spark is a key to engagement. Teachers can find this spark through observation and interaction.
