Teacher Development

Assignment Title:  Week 6 Blog 1

Still Can’t Remember All Their Names?

Heather Wolpert-Gawron – November 24, 2014

This article caught my attention because every twenty days I have a new developmental math class with fifteen to twenty new students and new names.  Seemingly, the author and I share something in common when it comes down to remembering names.  Yes, I can remember the faces and special things about some of the students.  Sometimes there are two students in class with the same first name.  Calling attendance is the worst problem when the spelling of the name is pronounced totally opposite from the English and pronunciation that I learned.

According to the author, there are some skills that I can use to help with remembering the names for my new classes.  Learning names and common core connections are her secrets.  She states that “These strategies can also become activities that the students do in class as a means for them to also learn content.” The strategies that were suggested are:

1.     Name cards with visuals or symbols could be done at the beginning of the year.  Assigning activities such as speaking before the class to help a guest speaker or a substitute teacher. The author adds this Common Core Connection to assignment: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.6-8.4.

2.     Allow students to speak and give presentations throughout year. “It’s as much up to the teacher to bring out a student as it is for a student to do their best for the teacher to see them for who they are,” according to Wolpert-Gawron.  The author writes that having students speak in front of you allows you to hear their voice and make connections with their face.  The Common Core Connection:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.4 and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST. 8.6.

3.     Keep faces associated with names and assignments.  According to author, “... I have students develop their digital portfolios, I always have them put a picture of themselves on their home pages.”  This strategy allows instructor to look at portfolio to see whose paper is being graded and it saves time.  Common Core Connection:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST. 8.5.

Multi-Modalities learning is another strategy that’s used by the author and it helps students embed information more efficiently.  However, the author suggests instructors consider the following:

1.     Have students create a glossary of academic vocabulary for any subject.

2.     Give students points for participation or speaking in class.

3.     Play music in background that is appropriate for the experiment that is being presented.

4.     Visual note taking using pictures to illustrate facts about a historic event.

5.     Pair text with facial expressions or use sound effects to embed rhythm.

These strategies may work better for K-12 classes because the instructor would have more time to plan for assignments as suggested by Wolpert-Gawron.

http://www.edutopia.org//blog/still-cant-remember-all-their-names-heather-wolpert