Chapter 5: Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Group

This chapter starts with describing a couple of the different types of students a typical classroom will include. This list includes students that will tune out, that know the information but will not raise their hand, that always raise their hand, that day dream during class, that cheat to get by, that joke around, and that do all the work but may not excel. There are many reasons why a student may or may not volunteer information during class. Sometimes it’s because the student does not know the information but many times it’s because they fear getting it wrong even when they are right, or they may fear getting it right and looking like a know-it-all. Then end of the chapter dealt with ways to make sure group work is going smoothly. You have to make sure that the project you have them working on is suitable for a group and that everyone will have work to do. It is also important to make sure that everyone is actually working and that a few of the students are not doing all of the work. When it comes to grading; however, it is good to remember that progress is individual and that some students may not learn best while in groups.

I found the conversation about the different types of students in the classroom to be intriguing. Looking back over my time in school I recognize students that fit each of these categories. What I find more intriguing is that I see myself falling into each of these categories at different times in my classes. In my Math courses I went through the hand-waver and the workhorse. In Physics I was defiantly the goof-off and I always felt like the con-artist in English. It’s strange how one student can have all the mixes that you would find in a classroom full of kids.