Sara's Little Formula is comprised of many elements and today I will discuss the importance of participation as a major component to student success. Too many times students want to watch a problem being worked. Then when it's time for homework or other independent practice, they lose their way. They don't know what to do in order to work the problem. Sometimes they can't even begin the problem.Often students don't understand why this happens - but the simple answer is this: they haven't participated in working any of the problems themselves. They simply watched the teacher work problems during the lesson.
Participation is a critical and vital element in Sara's Little Formula. During my tutorials with clients, participation is really what moves the student toward seeing immediate success. Even during mistakes in working problems, the student experiences the actual feel of the problem and learns the concept quicker and easier with less stress and struggle.
The next essential element in Sara's Little Formula is motivation. Without motivation, a great deal of success will never happen.
I learned a very long time ago that many of my students didn't really like math. So I made it my mission to motivate them to succeed. My mission is never to make them like math. But I've always believed that if students improve in their math classes, they have to like math a little bit more - but that's a secondary benefit. And no one has to like a subject in order to be good at it.
Motivation is important in order for success to occur for a myriad of reasons. If a student is struggling to comprehend a particular concept, the stress and struggle often take over and shut down the brain. Poor grades further the downward spiral and then there is (in the student's mind) very little reason to continue working on the concept. And sometimes students can even experience failure to a degree that shuts them totally down.
Stress and struggle occur in many facets of life. But my belief is that students shouldn't have to contend with stress and struggle when a remedy exists. Enter Sara's Little Formula to the rescue.
Motivation is essential in my formula because it sets the stage for immediate relief as well as sustainable success. Like I said in yesterday's post - whether you think you can or you think you can't do something, you are right. Therefore, motivation is key.
I don't set out to teach my students, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
Sara L. Fitts and SLF Consulting are dedicated to academic and instructional coaching and consulting - and student success. For more information, please visit our website today.
Over the past 30 years I have developed a style and system of working with students. This system has led to many successes for hundreds of students since the 1980's and continuing today. One day not so long ago I began thinking about my system and what made it work for my students. After a major deconstruction of this system of mine I realized that it was simply a formula for success - the student's success. So I then re-named my system. I now refer to it as Sara's Little Formula.
Sara's Little Formula is comprised of many elements. Sometimes all parts of this formula are used with students and other times only a few of the most needed elements of the formula are provided to students. In this way I can configure my formula to work with a variety of students and get the specific results that are needed.
The most important element of Sara's Little Formula is belief in the ability of the student to improve. Every student with whom I have had the pleasure of working over the years has had that from me. By simply believing in the student and in his or her ability to improve, success begins.
Because whether we believe we can or we can't improve, we are right.
More to come.........
Sara L Fitts and SLF Consulting are dedicated to academic and instructional coaching and consulting - and student success. For more information, please visit our website today.
