Student practice: Error management

 

                                                        Student practice: Error management

During my teaching practice at the British School, I have noticed a lot of differences in the way teachers deal with students’ errors. First of all, teachers always focus on learners’ strengths instead of dwelling on their weaknesses. I found that it encouraged learners to continue to work hard and they are not discouraged that they are not smart enough. This growth-mind set really benefits the learners and teacher. The teacher can use or focus on their strengths in order to improve their problem areas. They are more encouraged to push themselves to get into a certain point because they know they have a good support system in the class and they will not receive harmful judgement or criticism. 

While the head teacher was showing me their methods of marking, one thing stood out when marking a test or a given assignment. The teacher does not place an “X” where the answer is wrong, rather they place a dot. I think this small change shows that the teacher really considers students' emotions and really want to promote growth by not placing a big fat “X” beside their work. It shows that the provided answer was wrong, but learners still have another chance to try and fix it. While marking, the head teacher never uses a red pen, instead she uses a purple or green one. I think that she does this, as we have learnt from red-pen theory, there is an unmistakable feeling of anxiety at that moment when a teacher hands back tests or term papers scrawled with red ink. I also like that the students receive constant feedback on their work, either on a test or written assignment. The test and assignments always have a rubric, so its much easier for the teacher to judge a given work but also students have a deeper understanding what they did right and areas of improvement. 

I really like the observed methods, as I will implement them into my own classroom 

Sara