How to rightly appraise your students?
If you’re a teacher, you know it’s a part of your job to evaluate the performance of your students from time to time. And irrespective of the fact that the appraisal part is frustrating, time-consuming, and quite demanding, you may leave your student discontented if you don’t chart out a strategy to help improve his performance. It is only logical if your students feel your report is aimed at telling them where they went wrong so that they could work on those areas to ameliorate their skills. Anyhow, how do you appraise the performance of your students? Is there a right approach to doing it? Well, this post explores some ideas that may give teachers an insight into dealing with students, who, more often than not, have different needs. The teachers may want to keep the following points in their minds before making an appraisal:
1. Get to Know Your Student Well
Not only does a great teacher teach well, but also tries hard to build a personal rapport with each of his students. Building a strong bond helps a teacher to grasp the student’s frame of mind besides understanding what kind of approach would suit the student best. Getting to know the student is of prime importance because it can influence the appraisal to a large extent. A brilliant student who likes reading books and watching the news will have to be appraised differently than a mediocre student who is an ardent fan of cricket.
2. Ask a Lot of Questions
A student must know that his teacher is genuinely interested in his progress. Asking questions is a good way to understand what the student needs and can thus help figure out what the student wants out of the course. A brilliant student might want to be treated differently than one who knows he isn’t up to the mark. Handling different kinds of students is an art in itself, and a teacher is only required to master this art. An inclusive approach to teaching involves interacting, using a variety of teaching methods, and employing different tools to bring in diversity. The appraisal of the students, without an iota of doubt, does depend upon how they fare from the start until the time of the appraisal.
3. Compliment them on their achievements
A kind teacher can mould a student in a way he wants, but a grumpy teacher who resorts to scolding can lower a student’s morale. Everyone likes being liked, and appreciating your students can do wonders. Instead of pointing out their mistakes all the time, focus on the areas they are good at. ‘Well done’, ‘keep it up’, and ‘that is fantastic,’ are some example sentences that can be said while sharing your appraisal. If you feel an urge to point their mistakes, do so without resorting to mocking or reprimanding.