How to help underachieving students

Know how to help your students and underachievers to motivate and do their best.The best strategies for improving your low achievers. In this article, it has been discussed that how a teacher will assist, motivate and inspire his or her students to study.

How to assist underachievers

How can teachers help students be successful?

Successful and committed teachers take time at the beginning of a scholastic year to set goals, identity priorities, make known expectations, figure out the interests and talents, assess skills, knowledge and emotional level of students in order to set the right climate for learning to the maximum advantage of every student. They make a sincere effort to have a thorough knowledge of the strong and weak areas of each student and provide the necessary motivation for learning.

The concept of differentiated classrooms, which is an accepted concept in educationally
advanced countries are gaining ground also in our country. Given the structure and the
strength of most of our classrooms, and being more familiar with the idea of mass education, it may sound an idea too progressive and Utopian in our context. However, the goal of education, viz., the integral formation of each child, makes it imperative that
teachers take some progressive steps to know their students as unique individuals and
not as a class.

Classrooms may be considered as mini societies, dynamic and complex in nature with mutual expectations: expectations that teachers have for students and parents, and
students and parents have for teachers. But expectations themselves can't be seen. They need to be made perceptible through the filter of the relationship between the teacher and students.

Education involves learning, and learning can be broadly defined as a change of behaviour. According to Jim Steffen, a management consultant, "nothing influences behaviour so strongly as the clear expectations of a significant other".Two phrases worth highlighting from Jim Steffen's definition are clear expectations and significant other. Student motivation to excel will depend on the clarity and style of presenting the expectations. Obviously, what you expect is what you get. Teachers, therefore, can raise or lower the level of expectation of students performance by expecting more or less from them.

Teachers, like parents, are the "significant other for the students. If the relationship is
permeated with affection, it becomes even more significant and the level of motivation can be astoundingly high and the learning impact lasts for life. The success of a teacher will depend largely on the extent to which he/she enables the students to climb the ladder of excellence individually and collectively, helping each one to do his/her best.

Helping students to learn

"Underachievers" are children who are capable, but spend most of their school time trying to avoid learning. All their energy is spent in manipulating their home and school environment to hide their low self-concepts. Underachievers exhibit one or more of these characteristics: inconsistent work, poor study habits, lack of concentration, hyperactivity, daydreaming, and aggressive behaviour.

There are two types of underachievers: those who are overly dependent and those who are overly independent or dominant. The dependent underachievers seldom complete

assignments; they lose homework, have a messy desk and make excuses.

This is how you can help them:

Realize that this child will require much more effort and positive support while being weaned from dependency.
Insist on the child's independent activity on tasks you know he or she can do.
Discuss tactfully with the parents the child's behaviour at home and what you see in the school.
Express pride at each independent accomplishment.
Target work completion as your first goal for the child; emphasize quality later.

Independent underachievers are noted for their tendency to control and dominate. They

can t accept a No, they manipulate most of the people around them. Though they appear

tough, they have the fear of being exposed as vulnerable and imperfect.

This is how you can help them:-

Let these children know that you are their friend, that you see how bright and creative they are, and that you recognize their special qualities.
Avoid useless power struggles. Don't use marks of your power to put them down.
Permit them some control within clearly defined limits.
Be firm, but fair. Offer your kind persuasion and support.
Teach dominant children to examine the perspective of others.
Remind parents that the dominant child needs a clear Yes, a clear No, and, most of all, consistency.

Communicate positive expectations to students from all subgroups

Research on student achievement teacher expectations and teacher expectations has shown that expectations have a dramatic impact on student academic performance (Kerman, Kimball, and Martin,1980). Student behavioural performance is also dependent, on the large expectations of significant adults in students' lives. Numerous studies indicate that the expectations teachers have for students tend to become self-fulfilling prophecies. It is, therefore, critically important for educators to monitor their interactions with the goal of Communicating appropriately high behavioural and academic expectations to all students, not just to high achievers.

When you call on students, there are several things to keep in mind. First of all, you want to monitor the equitability of response opportunities. Often, teachers who keep track discover that they turn a little number of scholars frequently and permit few if any, chances for students for whom they have low expectations to answer. When you fail to acknowledge particular students, you'll communicate a coffee level of confidence in their abilities. Each and every student may tune out and believe that they simply don't expect they are going to be ready to answer your questions. This message is compounded when these students see others being called on regularly.

Students develop feelings of self-confidence in their abilities when their teacher goes to them for the proper answer. In addition, calling on all the students in your class, rather than a select few, will help keep students on task and decrease the number of behaviour problems. Try to make an effort to call on students who have typically been off-task or who have been achieving at a low level, allowing them to respond and participate in class. and watch what happens. Over time, you'll notice that these students will remain on task more often and improve academically!

How To Help Learners' questioning

The increasing latency period (Kerman et., 1980) is another technique you can use to communicate that you have positive expectations for a student. Kerman and colleagues (1980) explain that the amount of time we give to students to answer questions is directly related to the level of expectation we have for them. We give longer to Students once we believe in their ability to answer an issue. Conversely, we give less time to students with whom we have little confidence. When you quickly give up on a student who is struggling with a response, it is clear to everyone within the classroom that you simply don't expect him or her to return up with the proper answer. When you make a conscious effort to the extent of the length of latency for low achieving students, these students will begin to pay more attention, become more actively involved in discussions, and minimise their behaviour issues.

How to give Hints and Clues to assist Students to answer Questions

You also communicate positive expectations by providing hints and clues to the students. In their work on teacher expectations, Kerman and colleagues (1980) point out that teachers usually do more "delivering and rephrasing" for students for whom they have high expectations and less for college kids for whom they need low expectations. It is important that we communicate to all our students that we have high expectations for their success, and one way to do this is by giving more hints and clues to all or any students, especially the low-performing students.

Tell students that they have the ability to do well

Another way to communicate positive expectations to students is by directly telling them that they have the ability to do well. When you tell your students that you have confidence that they can handle a difficult assignment or improve their behaviour, you impart a very powerful message. Every child must have a minimum of one significant adult in his or her life who believes that he or she will have the best. Teachers have the unique opportunity and privilege to speak daily to a variety of scholars that they believe them.

You can also let students know that you have positive expectations for them by referring to past success (Kerman et al., 1980). When you tell a student that you simply know he will behave appropriately at recess because he was successful yesterday, you help build confidence within the student and increase his chance to succeed. And after a student demonstrates good behaviour or academic achievement in a specific situation, telling her you knew she would be successful (Kerman et al., 1980) also instils confidence. Students need to know that teachers respect them and have confidence in them. Using these different strategies to consistently communicate your positive expectations will Work wonders.

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