Insufficient Toolbox

Being an educator is a rewarding profession. How many times have you heard that statement? Today I found myself chanting this as encouragement. However the internal monologue was stimulated by my recently concluded one-on-one teaching session. Some days are certainly better than others. Earlier today I was teaching my ELL, who has made great progress in our numerous sessions. My student is dedicated, yet at times it is obvious she does not study after completing homework assignments. I find both of us getting frustrated when we end up working on a previously learned word for longer than sixty seconds. Naturally, I encourage all my students to take breaks and revisit the material they may find difficult. More often than not a reset occurs once students return refreshed and they are able to establish the/a resolution. Things did not go as smoothly as I would have liked during our session. I am questioning what I can do to enhance my students learning. Recently I have added more reviews and recaps of previously learned material to help this particular students' memorization. It is clear that a basic level of knowledge needs to occur before she can truly begin to comprehend the new material and apply it to new lessons. [Just made a connection to Bloom's Taxonomy without attempting to -- must really be at the core of my lesson planning without me realizing it! Good job me!!] The most important thing I recognize after nearly six months of working with my ELL is that I need to evolve my methods of teaching her anything. She is motivated enough to complete her class and homework. I do feel that she fails to push herself to go beyond the assigned work. There are two other academic factors that compliment a student's efforts: a will to research things outside the classroom and periodically studying or reviewing material.  Great students do more than what is required. The entire process would be more fun if every student knew which styles of learning improves their academic success. Overall, I am disappointed in myself and want to be a great educator for all my current and future scholars.
Off to do more research and increase my toolbox for my students benefit...

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