Category: Student Psychology

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Math is one of the most troublesome subjects for most of the students. However, the minority who likes math finds it really easy and interesting than any other subject. It is the love for the subject that made them win over it. The way teachers handle the subject is also important when it comes to the end result. There should be some wise strategies applied when handling such subjects. And it is very important to encourage or incorporate growth mindset messages into math class than treating it with a fixed mindset strategy. In fact, changing a student’s math mindset itself can help them to boost their subject performance.
Here are a few among the many important ways teachers can nurture a growth mindset among students while teaching mathematics:

1. Problems with errors: Engaging them with a set of worked out problems that have output errors or step wise errors are a good strategy. This gives them a chance to think out of the box to find out what went wrong and they would come up with better solutions. Giving them such chances to think critically would foster a growth mindset when approaching the subject.

2. Solve problems independently: In most of the math classes, teachers are demonstrating the way of solving a problem at first and ask them to solve a similar problem with different variables. This gives them minimal chances for thinking more about the problem solving as they just replicate what you demonstrated at first. Change your approach to the subject and give them chances to solve the problems independently and then correct their mistakes if any.

3. Re-frame mode of assessment: Changing the mode of assessment can help lot in boosting the growth mindset in math class. Assessment should not always be targeting on the final grades they achieve. The students should be credited if they make an attempt to revisit the problems they went wrong and reworks it to reach the solution. Growth over a period of time is important when it comes to subjects such as math rather than getting a good grade once.

4. Productive feedback: Human brains are programmed to pay more attention to the negative signals. So it is important to give them feedback in the most positive way to help the students to get a growth mindset. A productive feedback with constructive criticism can play the trick rather than pointing out their mistakes in an unfriendly way that causes them to fear the subject.

5. Prepare every student: When we talk about growth mindset, the main target is on students who are performing weak. In fact, equal importance should be given on students who excel now also. This is important to help them perform better every time than living with a mindset that they are masters of the subject. Give them chances to struggle with the subject with some difficult problems and let them face failures once in a while. This works better than facing a failure all of a sudden in a higher class that kills their confidence.

6. Value the learning process: Teachers should convey the message very clearly to the students that grades and ranks are not just the mere motive behind learning. Or else the self perceptions of aptitude injects them a fixed mindset. So it is important to make them understand that the learning process should be valued more than the success achieved temporarily. Prioritizing the learning process over grades boosts their growth mindset.

7. Explore with open problems: Teachers should make an extra effort to give them a chance to explore with open problems. This helps students to understand concepts better and they relate similar problems very fast. In this approach, teacher can first give a simple problem and expand it step by step once they find solutions for each segment. This method helps them to explore the subject with their personal steps rather than looking blindly at an algorithm.

8. Thinking mathematically: Nurture a mindset in them to think mathematically when approaching a problem. You should welcome their questions even when it makes sense or not. Let them visualize the problem or generalize, justify and prove that their approach is right. Develop a curious mindset in them right from their junior classes and help them to be resourceful enough to approach even the weird problems without thinking twice.

9.Multiple entry points: It is important to set multiple entry points for students to treat the subject rather than giving them a fixed guideline. Let them solve problems in their favorite approach with mathematical reasoning. Give them chances to express their understanding and learning through multiple means or conclude their understanding with a varied strategy.

10. Ability grouping: The ability grouping approach by teachers are based on their thoughts about what a student can achieve or not. The idea of weak student groups and intelligent student groups in fact set a fixed mindset in students about their position in the group. The works for the weak groups are mostly easy and demands only less application of brain. This approach actually snatches their chance to perform better and think better with an extra effort. Ability grouping is never a good idea to promote a growth mindset.

11. Stress free classroom: A classroom which is low in stress itself gives them a peace of mind in approaching the subject. Give them ample time to solve a problem in the first time rather than forcing them to solve the problem in the fixed time frame which gives them an unwanted stress. A fixed time frame may block their thinking mindset and they might feel stressed and loss in problems. It is important to talk with them and find out a success plan in their failures rather than pushing them to perform better and stressing them.

12. No fear about mistakes: When approaching a subject like math, it is important to set a mindset that has no fear for mistakes. Or else they would step back without giving it try thinking about the failure. Making them understand that mistakes are stepping stones to success helps them to approach the problems in a confident manner.

13. Set achievable micro-goals: It is good to help them target small achievable goals rather than asking them to push hard for unrealistic targets. This in fact helps them to make an incremental and consistent progress in their approach to the subject. This is actually a psychological approach because repeated small wins continuously gives them a boost in the confidence and they slowly develops a growth mindset.

14. Praise student’s efforts: It is not advisable to praise the intelligence part of a student in their success. Teachers should actually praise their effort on the way to their success. If intelligence is praised over effort, students would lack self motivation in case of a failure in future and they easily get depressed causing repeated failures. But if their effort is praised instead, they would continue to make efforts despite the success or failure.

15. Change view about math brain: It is a common thinking that students who perform better in math are born with a math brain. In fact, it is just an illusion and there is no such brain according to research. Developing a growth mindset during the smaller classes is the key to approach the subject easily with a ‘math brain’. Hard work and determination will always be paid and there is nothing that blocks you to perform better.

16. Promote cooperative learning: According to many researches, studying in groups promotes a growth mindset than individualistic or competitive approach. So promote peer groups in class which gives them a chance to teach and learn from their peers and enjoy the process of learning. When a student performs in groups, it gives them an extra responsibility of performing for the group’s success and this in fact enhances a growth mindset in them.

17. Build up confidence: Making an effort to build up their confidence is just as important as teaching them the different strategies in the subject. A boosted confidence would always be an effective tool for a student rather than knowing some math techniques. This promotes a growth mindset in them and helps them to think on their own in solving the problems even if they are new to the technique.
A fixed mindset when learning math in fact degrades a student’s capability to think out of the box. When teacher gives focus and importance in integrating growth mindset messages while learning math, it actually opens them a world of possibilities and gives a chance to discover and explore their hidden talents. A growth mindset approach can really make a difference in the way they excel in their learning. This teaching technique helps them to think out of the box on many instances and this improves their critical thinking and logical reasoning capability.

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It is quite common for students to have nervousness in their study life which adversely affects their learning cycle. For some students, the anxiety is only mild and is seen only at exam times but it can be an alarming issue for certain students.

Whether the nervousness is mild or  a serious disorder, teachers can play a crucial role in alleviating it to a great extent. Some deliberate changes in the way they approach these students can help them a lot to overcome these mishap and have a productive learning phase.

Let us see the important changes teachers can adopt in their teaching strategies to help students to mitigate nervousness:

1. Create a study schedule

For students with exam fear, the anxiety of covering large portions of syllabus in the stipulated deadline is the major problem. Teachers can help them to create a realistic study schedule by which they can complete important lessons more productively. You can help them to allot their time effectively to cover all of the subjects in the time frame.

teacher app

2. Empower students with tips

Help them to relax their body and mind with some tips. This can include taking deep breathing exercises whenever they feel stressed. Advice the students to follow their mantras and promote positive self-talk. Seated stretches are one of the good ways to remove tension during exam times.

3. Keep them busy

An idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Students with anxiety problems used to think a lot and this makes the problem worse. So teachers should take up some steps to keep them busy with some interesting activities during their free time giving no way for unwanted thoughts. Keeping them physically and mentally active with some productive schedules can do the trick.
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4. Promote positive thinking

Teachers can take deliberate efforts in promoting positive thinking with some valuable speech every day. You can share the success stories with the students to help them learn how the hard work actually pays them back. Another option is to write down a new positive thought in classroom black board every day which motivates them to think positively.

5. Facilitate peer study groups

Students would always be comfortable with kids of their age group. So it would be good to organize some peer study groups with students of differing calibre. They can teach and learn from each other and share the ideas in groups during free hours which bring in lots of positive vibes.

6. Give continual feedback

It is not a good idea to blame them all of a sudden when they score badly in main exams. Instead you can conduct mini tests all through the study term and give them continual feedback on ways to improve. This would help them to re-frame their study approach effectively and take effort to perform better every next time. This takes away their exam fear and helps to approach the main exams with confidence.

7. Make flexible assignments

It is not good to burden them with unrealistic assignments that kill their self study time. Teachers should consider giving them small portions of flexible assignments and make the deadline for completion more realistic. You may also give friendly advice to present the assignments better next time with constructive criticism.

8. Praise student effort

Students would always love to hear words of appreciation for the work they do. So take some time to praise them for the little efforts they take. Even if they fail in their first or second attempt, praise them for the effort they took in doing it. This would inject positive vibes in them and lifts their self confidence to do things better and try something new without any fear.

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9. Educate importance of practice

As we all know, practice makes a man perfect and there is no gain without pain. So it is important to teach them the importance of practice. Make them understand that success may not always come their way in the first place; instead they have to achieve it one day through practice and hard work.

10. Create a nurturing environment

Make sure that no students in your classroom are bullied for any difference. See that there is no gender or caste or cultural discrimination in your classroom. Give them a feeling of safety and take an effort to make everyone in the class feel valued. Also see that there is proper student engagement with learner-centered activities.

 

11. Give additional help for needy

All students in the classroom may not be of the same calibre. So it is good to include activities that help every type of students to understand the lessons. If you see that certain students are too weak in some lesson areas, spend some time to give them additional help to make them compete with their peers.

Also Read: 8 Strategies To Make Learning Easier For Struggling Students

12. Keep them moving

Being physically active in the classroom can also help them to have some positivity. Include activities that ask them to come out of their seats and interact with others and explore new ideas. Making them communicate well with their peers is another way of erasing their anxiety problems and to help them stay positive.

13. Identify and ease fear

The fears can be different for different students. It is the role of teachers to spend some time for them to make a friendly conversation. This helps them to identify their personal fears and take effort to ease it to an extent. You may also have a chat with their parents if things seem serious and not handy.

14. Have a good classroom setting

A comfortable atmosphere to study gives them a feel of goodness. You may consult with the management to make some proper seating arrangement. Also make sure that the lighting is proper inside the classroom. You may also bring in some light music in the classroom to ease of the pressure.

15. Have proper leisure time

Burdening students with lessons throughout the day can invoke stress and this can create nervousness in them. Teachers can initiate steps to make sure that they are getting proper leisure time in the middle of all lessons. It is important to free up their mind and help their body and mind to relax.

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16. Teach importance of time management

The lack of time management is the reason why many students fail to complete the lessons on time. This paves the way for unnecessary fears and anxiety, especially during exam times. So teachers can help them learn the importance of time management which takes away most of the associated fears.

17. Have good teacher-parent relations

Maintaining good parent teacher relations can help a lot to identify the student’s personal fears. This helps teachers to take some cautious steps to approach a student with anxiety disorder. This also helps teachers to properly convey the child’s activities in school and seek help from parents if needed.

18. Give them support to enjoy learning

It is important to do the things you love to make it more enjoyable. Teachers can give enough support for them with timely advice to make learning more easy and joyful. Devise a teaching style that helps them to learn with fun rather than giving them a feeling of serious study time.

19. Advice a balanced approach

Teach them the importance of balancing their time effectively to enjoy all phases of life. Help them to allot their daily time wisely for studies, friends, parents, play and rest to balance their life properly. Similarly, teachers can also make the exams balancing by trying open book tests or creative exams to enhance their confidence.

20. Maintain friendly classroom ambience

A friendly classroom setting can help students to be more free and relaxed. Keep up a good ambience in classroom which motivates every student to express freely and share their ideas. Make the setting comfortable enough for even the shy students to express themselves and see that students are keeping positive relations with one another.

21. Keep yourself relaxed

It is highly important for you to keep yourself relaxed while approaching students. Keep away your tensions and approach a classroom with a positive attitude. This would be highly inspiring for them to maintain a positive outlook in life despite what all comes their way. It is important for teachers to set an example of the principles you are conveying to the kids.

Giving a clear picture of the objective of lessons and the purpose of learning erases away their feeling of uncertainty and anxiety to a great extent. Let them understand that they can freely approach teachers or parents for any support and guidance.

Teach them that making mistakes are quite human and there is no need to lose hope over a single failure. School management can take some effort to arrange personality development and confidence boosting sessions by experts once in a while in addition to the regular text book lessons.

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Day scholars are lucky to spend quality time in school and get back home after school. But what about those who have moved out from their home city to another town to study? They miss being at home, their family and friends in their neighborhood in their pursuit to receive quality education from a renowned institute that is away from their home.

All in an attempt to make the transition from home to the hostel a pleasant move, school and college administrators should go the extra mile in helping hostelers deal with homesickness in a better way.

Here are some ways in which an educator can better manage homesick students so that they make their hostel as their second home.

  1. It is normal to feel homesick

Educators play an important role in simplifying the first few months of hostel life of students. They are the ones who try to impress upon students who is having homesick. While some introvert students keep their feelings to themselves, some express their feelings that are indeed missing their families.

Handholding all such students and making them comfortable in the hostel will be possible if educators spend time with homesick students make them feel normal. Educators should impress upon students that this is a passing phase which will fade out very soon provided certain corrective measures are taken.

  1. Encourage Homesick Students to Step Out of their Rooms

Restricting yourself to the four walls of a hostel room can be very depressing. Hostelers who start missing their homes at times get into a shell, withdrawing themselves from interacting with other friends and hostelers. In such cases, the school or college management should ensure that homesick students should be encouraged to step outside their hostel rooms.

Educators can encourage hostelers to partake social and extra-curricular activities, along with making study hours in a library mandatory. Libraries can also be the best places where hostelers can interact with day scholars and their peers.

  1. Pack Your Bags With Pleasurable Articles of Comfort

Hostel administrators who help freshers tide over their homesickness feelings can vouch for the immense influence of favorite articles that in-campus students bring along with them from their homes. It can be your favorite and cuddly teddy bear which was gifted by your parents, the poster of your favorite hero which was pasted on one of your bedroom walls or your family pic.

Bringing such comforting things along with you will help you better deal with the feelings of missing your home and your dear ones. Such lovable articles will also help students interact better with their roommates when they begin to go down memory lane about those articles that have a special place in their heart. These familiar things can strengthen you with a sense of positivity that you have left your home and your dear ones to pursue your dreams and soon will join them after you have reached your goal.

  1. A Positive Attitude Does the Trick

Positivity fills you with good and pleasurable feelings that help you overcome the thoughts of missing home. School and college administrators who prompt their in-house students to stay positive will need to handhold them to make new friends and socialize with them. At times, stress-release mechanisms like a hot shower or a stroll around the school garden can work wonders to homesick kids.

Educators who prompt hostelers to look out for ways and means to deal with homesickness will be helping them a great deal to deal with the transition from home to a university hostel. Educating them about finding solace in such comforting acts will pave the way for a smooth changeover. And when the situation goes out of hands, you as educators can also bank on the assistance provided by professionals who will counsel such students who are battling the pain of staying away from home.

  1. Silence Can Never Solve Your Problems

It is the responsibility of hostel or university wardens to help students open up their concerns. Suffering in silence can never be the solution to any of the problems students face; be it with their academics, their finances or their inner-most feelings. It is hence the duty of educators to help students express their fears so that they can be sorted out at the earliest before the issue magnifies and disrupts their peace of mind.

Hence it is recommended to encourage homesick students to talk about their feelings with someone whom they feel close to. While some students bank on a guidance counselor, there can be others who wish to pour out their feelings to a parent or a confidante. Shunning away the embarrassment that you experience while seeking emotional help, such acts of openness will only make homesick students stronger and composed.

  1. Engage in Activities You Loved While Being At Home

Another way in which hostelers can get over homesickness is to do things that they feel nostalgic about. Engaging in all those activities that you loved while you were at home even after you stepped out will help you feel better. It could be relishing familiar foods and sharing them with your roommates. You could also participate in religious traditions that were followed while you were at home.

All such activities will familiarize you with your new surroundings with a slow and steady feeling of accepting the change. Providing you the much-needed emotional support when you feel lost and lonely, these tricks help you tide over the move from home to hostel. This way, the management of schools and colleges will be able to help students identify the unique aspects of the new surroundings and fill them with a sense of belonging to the current location.

  1. Spend Time In Your New Surroundings

It is a known fact that moving from home to a university hostel uproots you from your known surroundings to become a part of the unknown. It can be a completely new city that you have stepped into or a hostel that is far away from your home but within the city limits. Either ways, it is going to be a completely different setup that you should acclimatize yourself with.

Activities like going around the new place, signing up for sightseeing tours, enrolling in local dance or cooking clubs should be encouraged by the management. All such activities will help new students learn the local expressions and culture. Students who are encouraged to learn the new language of the city will be better off over others who are still struggling to make a place for themselves. Getting to know the new surroundings works wonders for homesick students to look at the positives in the place alongside embracing the change gracefully.

  1. Putting Your Thoughts On Paper

Journalizing all your thoughts will help you delve deep into what you were feeling at different points in time. Every time you look at your journal you will begin to identify yourself better with the thoughts you had and the ways in which you dealt with them. You can enlist all the unfamiliar situations you faced during your initial stages of moving to a new city. And when you sit back to read your journal, you will be able to reflect on all those experiences.

Giving vent to your feelings in black and white strengthens your core and offers you solutions to relieve yourself of the painful feelings of homesickness. Thus, the management of universities should go the extra mile in letting the students know that penning down their thoughts and actions will come as a therapeutic tool to better manage the pain caused by staying away from home.

  1. Flex Your Muscles

Exercising bestows dual benefits with students who stick to a strict regime. Not only helping them stay fit, it is through exercise that students will experience the positives coming from the release of feel-good hormones. Endorphins are the natural chemicals that are released into our bodies while flexing our muscles. These hormones help students fight the common side-effects of homesickness like depression and anxiety.

Even better, the management which encourages students to exercise as groups will not only create opportunities to socialize but also helps students boost their immune system. Thus, schools and colleges which make exercising compulsory can better deal with homesick students with reduced instances of frequent headaches and colds bothering them.

  1. Engage in Frequent Conversations with Family and Friends Back Home

Another proven means to fight the ill-effects of homesickness is to encourage students to talk to their loved ones, their family and close friends back home. This act of frequent calling and interacting with people at home and in their old neighborhood will provide them with the much-needed self-confidence and self-reliance.

Only when homesick students talk to their dear ones about what they are going through in their new place will they be able to get the perspective of others. Listening to what they have to say will help you come up with ways to deal with the new situation. Alongside talking to old friends, if the management provides opportunities to make new friends, you will not feel left out.

Closing Thoughts

Driven by a motive to handhold new students moving away from their cozy nests to settle in a completely new place, the onus is on the management to ensure a smooth transition. Allowing them the time to embrace their new surroundings, if all the above pointers are kept in mind and implemented, educators will become instruments of peace and harmony for hostelers.

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One of the key features of a successful student will be his thinking skills and he gets the basement for this quality from his classroom. Only a creative student can be a good thinker and that is why scholars round the globe are yelling for creative classrooms. There is only a minority of the kids who are born with creative mindsets and it is the good classroom experiences that develop creativity and thinking capability in the rest of the kids.

Those who are born creative might lose their talents if not encouraged in the right way. Schools or classrooms are the place where kids spend more than half of their life time and that is why it is the right place to foster different skills and talents in kids. Even when the curriculum lacks the right mix of creativity, schools are taking initiatives to promote classroom creativity with innovative teaching strategies.

Some may be wondering how classroom creativity can actually improve thinking capability in children. Here let us have a look at the widely accepted and followed classroom activities or strategies that foster creativity in kids that helps them to grow up with good thinking skills.

  • Open-ended projects: In normal project works, students would be given guidelines, set of topics to choose from and an evaluating technique. But this open-ended technique helps kids to be more creative with their ideas and bring up interesting works. The process and results of the project are related to how amazingly he/she can think about different concepts. Rather than sticking to tough guidelines, they can experience extreme excitement and would be glad to explore different ideas. This activity can very well enhance their thinking capability and feel amazed about their own skills.
  • Creative team building: Smart schools always include team building activities along with covering up curriculum to help kids excel in exams. Some dedicated time for such activities per week or fortnight can help kids to get to know each other and help others to follow their goals too. An interesting task can be given after separating them into teams and they can work on it together to bring out amazing results. The fun team building activity can not only help them to relax in between the tough study time but also gives them time for creative team work. This helps to improve their thinking process and come up with interesting thoughts as well as to accept others’ thinking process.
  • Student teachers: It is an innovative teaching strategy in which students take the teaching role. This is an interesting activity in which students would be given a topic to teach and will be given time to do their own research and thinking before presenting it. This would also improve their confidence level and oral communication skills and other students would be excited to learn the topic when taught by their peer. This is also an opportunity to experience the student way of thinking about a particular subject.
  • Brainstorming sessions: This is another classroom activity that can stimulate problem solving and intellectual thinking. Some puzzles or activities that challenge their brain give way for a lot of thinking and kids would be glad to showcase their excellence. Such activities that trigger their thinking would brush up their brain power and memory helping them to grow up smarter. Brainstorming web, fill up the blanks with some funny ideas or asking them to give a speech on a randomly given topic which are some of the interesting activities followed in such sessions.
  • Story telling/thinking: This is a good strategy that helps kids to go through an imaginative state of mind. When teachers tell a story, they would see the characters and scenario in their mind that is designed out of their thinking process. Try to include some interesting stories which can encourage curiosity in them that drives their thinking world. Another version of this activity is to let them come up with a story a day or let them write it up. In addition to notebooks, bring some crayons, clay or such materials in classrooms to stimulate their creativity and let them express their stories through some sequence of pictures. Promote reading in them right from the childhood as good readers become good speakers, thinkers and better human beings.
  • Open-ended questions: It is good to ask some open ended questions when they leave home for a weekend or vacation. Instead of just playing all around during their free time, they can spend some time to think about such questions and come out with interesting answers when they are back to school. And the questions can be a little tricky so that children can be more creative with their answers. This is a good strategy to promote some independent thinking in students rather than just following the daily lessons. This is also an activity by which teachers can encourage dissenting views.
  • Classroom debates: A good teacher always encourages discussions in class that would gear up their thinking process. Debate is the best form of classroom discussions performed so far as each student gets a chance to come up with their point of view or thinking about a particular topic. This helps them to think critically about the subject while respecting other’s views. Students who make the best use of it grow up as good communicators. Rather than a competitive atmosphere, a collaborative environment should be promoted where kids support peer learning.
  • Unconventional learning materials: Students would usually get bored when going through the routine class time. Instead, they would be glad to bring in some creativity in class so that they can think out of the normal. Teachers should take initiatives to bring in some unconventional learning materials once in a while. This can be a TED talk show or podcast of some well read speakers that can really impress or inspire the way children think about a topic. With the influence of digital era, smart devices are becoming an integral part of classrooms. Smart boards, interactive video sessions as well as education apps are triggering their creativity and enthusiasm.
  • Imaginative thinking activities: The borderline between imagination and reality is negligible when it comes to kids. That is why some imaginative activities such as puppet show are found effective to teach kids. This would gear up their imaginative thinking capability and they understand the concept with a creation of images in their mind. There are also some games that trigger imagination, decision making and problem solving skills in kids. This classroom activity can be interactive with some imaginative indoor scenarios. Another way by which teachers stimulate thinking is by giving them chance to build up a new game that carries some new concept. Foreign language learning sessions with interactive activities is another creativity boosting activity that brings lot of fun.
  • Work out passions: There should be a dedicated hour or period at least once per week for kids to work out their passions. Give your students time to express themselves in the way they prefer whether it is singing, dancing, poems, painting, drawing, acting and what more. Students can best utilize the time to explore their creativity and passions. Sports sessions are also really effective to set a goal and work towards achieving it. Including arts along with curriculum is an interesting way to dig deeper into your thinking instincts. Rather than just considering it odd or unconventional, it is important to set aside some time for creativity.

A creative classroom is beneficial for both students and teachers and the overall learning phase would turn out more productive. Such a classroom set up would stimulate the kids’ mind and keeps them awake always for fresh and innovative ideas. It is important not to force them into some activity which they barely have any interest but choose activities that help them to follow their interests and passions.

Classroom is the best place to find the hidden talents in children and a good teacher should take initiatives to foster their creativity and artistic skills during their school days. Along with interesting activities, kids should also be given a quality resource of good books and visual materials.

Gaining the child’s interest and maintaining it is a bit challenging for any classroom and such appealing materials and activities might do the trick. Also there are lots of education apps that trigger creativity and thinking in kids which keeps them educated and entertained.

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“The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks” – Christopher Hitchens

If you are a student friendly teacher, you could have experienced at least one student with his/her ideas different from the rest. It’s astonishing and interesting to come across such students. What makes them different from others?

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It’s the ability of the child to think about anything and everything. An ability of critical thinking

Critical thinking should be encouraged. Traditional concepts of learning are loosing its charm. Text based passive learning is giving way to active thinking and learning process.  The vital goal of education is to promote critical thinking in students, not making them reflect like a parrot. EYFS and KHDA are new terms that aim at improving the quality in education.

It’s really important to instil the ability of critical thinking in children through education. Early Years Foundation Stage is providing better guidance for children at a very tender age, they believe in individual abilities of children. There are Government bodies such as the KHDA in Dubai who takes the responsibility of the growth and quality of private education institutions.

As far as 21st century learning is concerned, critical thinking is an important factor. Spoon-feeding system in education has changed for better. It’s an era of better education.

10 out of the many uses of critical thinking:

We are provided with brains but we create our mind. The best mind is the one that thinks rather than the ones that accepts. Whenever we are dealing with humans we are dealing with their thoughts as well. By helping students to cultivate critical thinking, we are sowing the seeds of a generation with a better thinking capability that can help society.

  1. Critical thinking helps to cultivate higher-order thinking skill. Think beyond the print. Mostly children are fed the printed books which deny any further development of critical thinking.

“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so”. William Shakespeare

  1. Rash decision making is a problem that the children should be kept away from. Stop and think before taking any action. Critical thinking ensures better thinking capacity in children which helps students think before any act.

  “He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question      remains a fool forever.” – CHINESE PROVERB

  1. Things are more sensible when we think. Make more sense with thinking. Rather than just jumping into conclusions, think twice about the displayed conclusion. Make decesions of your own.

“Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking while you’re thinking in order to make your thinking better.” ― Richard W. Paul

  1. Ideas must be clear. Complicated ideas can create confusion. Express your ideas clearly without doubt.

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”- Robin Williams

  1. There can be more than one answer for a question. Explore alternatives with critical thinking.

“There is more than one way of getting to 2 besides 1+1.”

  1. Making better judgement. Evaluate and analyse before concluding to a judgement. Better decision making from a small age can benefit an individual in life. Future is more secure with better decisions.

“Nothing strengthens the judgment and quickens the conscience like individual responsibility.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton

  1. Active thinking rather than passive acceptance of facts make children smart. With critical thinking, children tend to ask vital questions resulting in better judgement

“The one real goal of education is to leave a person asking questions.” – MAX BEERHOHM

  1. Critical thinking promotes academic improvement, effective communication with people and finding solution for complex problems.

“I think it’s really important to design things with a kind of personality”- Marc Newson

  1. Responsibility arises with better thinking. Being responsible for ones own thoughts and conclusion can make students better in learning as well as in life.

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“Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work.” ― Adrienne Rich

  1. Critical thinking explores possibilities. Mugging up facts won’t make any person wise but thinking does.

“All things are possible until they are proven impossible.” ― Pearl S. Buck

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So many researches and studies are going on about the relevance of our gradation system in schools. There had been various discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of gradation system in schools. This is a very important area that is to be studied seriously. Whether to stop or to continue this gradation system is an ongoing debate for the last few years.

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What is the purpose of gradation system?

The main function of the grades is to inform the parents, guardians and others how the student is performing in studies. This is to be done with at most attention and care and without any prejudice or partiality. It is a very private thing; unfortunately, it is done in a very public way.

Teacher app ad bannerAdvantages of gradation at school level:

  • Helps in self improvement to some extent
  • Enables students to fix a target and to work hard to attain it.
  • Makes the parents aware of the performance and standard of their children at school. That helps the parents to give necessary attention for them.
  • Makes students more objective.
  • Gives students competition spirit.

Disadvantages of gradation at school:

  • It is incomplete. It is not possible to asses all the learning and skills of all students using the same scale. Some skills cannot be measured.
  • It creates inequality among students.
  • To get higher grades, some students choose tasks much below their capacity. They won’t dare to be creative or innovative in their assignments.
  • It de-motivates students.
  • Those who get higher grades may feel proud and tend to deviate from studies.

How gradation psychologically affects students?

Our present gradation system announces the quantified results in the public. It really affects student’s psyche. Receiving a lower grade and everyone knowing about it, is really matter of shame. No one would like to show the low grades they received to others. If they are getting low grades continuously, they may feel that they are out of track and sometimes, they may quit education.

The low grades students receive in schools make them feel inferior to their classmates and that make them depressed. A division is created between the students who obtain higher grades and lower grades and an attitude of superiority and inferiority gets developed in them.

In the fear of getting lower grades, the students who obtain higher grade won’t take risky or innovative tasks and choose simple tasks, much below their caliber. This keeps them away from learning or experimenting new things. Actually, it makes them cowards.

The comparisons made by parents and teachers about the grades students got will affect them badly. It can even make them detached from the society.

How to solve this issue?

It is not possible to stop gradation in all levels. But the educators must understand that all results cannot be quantified and all learning cannot be assessed. They must inform the parents about the child’s performance, thereby, making the parents a part of this assessment or grading, as well. They are also responsible for the success or failure of the student.

Give them a qualitative feedback than a quantitative report card. Make it a weekly activity if possible. Let the parents also take part in these feedback sessions as far as possible. This can be done easily with Parent Portal.

Parent Portal

Edsys provides Parent Portal which makes parent-teacher communication an easy task. Every day, the teacher can inform the parents about the performance of the student. No need to wait for months or terms. So, the parents can guide or help the child to improve. It will be far effective than punishing after a terminal evaluation. Parents can also give their feedback though the Parent Portal.

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The parents can always have an eye on the students’ activities at schools using the Smart Cards for schools. It helps them to track their attendance in class and school bus. It helps the parents to know about the books they borrow from the library, the time they spend there, the purchases they make from the school store etc.

A proper intervention of parents at the proper time can reduce the shock given by the low grades. Nowadays, we have so many ways to do that. Parent Portal, School Apps, Smart Cards etc. are very useful for this purpose.

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