Let’s look into why using youth’s voices in the classroom setting is an important part of learning, comprehension and retention. It may come as no surprise that students who feel seen, heard and validated tend to perform better academically than students that do not feel that way. These students are excited to come to school and learn, because they feel respected and empowered by their teacher. This also builds an intrinsic drive for students to really pay attention in class, do what is asked of them by their teacher and enjoy the content they are learning. Here are some tips on how to utilize your student’s voices in the classroom.
Voice - Have students come up with a class mascot which you will find in our curriculum. This allows students to have input into what they feel their classroom values will be and will give them a feeling of creating a space that they helped contribute to.
Share - Use the “All About Me” worksheet found in our curriculum and allow students to share things about themselves with their teacher and their peers. Allow them to use their voice to share things that are important to them. This will make them feel more connected to the teacher and to their classmates.
Choice - Give your students a choice in their classwork. If the curriculum calls for cutting and gluing allow them to draw instead if they do not enjoy cutting or gluing or vice versa. This will allow the student to feel they have a say in their learning and feel respected that their teacher took their learning style into account and allowed them to choose.
Collaborate - Give students a mid-school year and end of school year classroom evaluation to allow students to voice their opinions on how the classroom is ran and what content or classroom management strategies they may like to see added, taken away or changed. Allow students to express if the class increased their hope, happiness and connectivity to their school campus and what they enjoyed learning the most.
Happy teaching!
Jessica Finkbiner M.Ed
Director of Admissions and Academic Services
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