https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb Understanding Students' Interests and Background en-us 2019-04-19 23:25:12 UTC 2019-04-20 00:53:03 UTC hello@padlet.com dominique_bell https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819195 This element refers to teachers seeking out information about students and using those details to create engaging and friendly discussions amongst students. ]]> 2019-04-19 23:29:49 UTC https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819195 dominique_bell https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819199 Frequently utilized at the beginning of a school term for full class icebreakers, student background surveys may also be used for new units to gauge student prior knowledge or understanding of a unit

Survey items may include student academic interests, personal interests, and family activities.

Instead of utilizing common pen/paper methods, these surveys can be updated with technological advancements such as app based surveys that students can complete on tablets, phones, or laptops. These can also be done with clickers or polling software to enhance and collectively discuss future assignments. ]]> 2019-04-19 23:29:59 UTC https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819199 dominique_bell https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819201 Students enhance their understanding of teacher-identified learning goals by relating the material to their own experiences and creating smaller, personal goals during a unit of study. 

Goals can be tracked and stored with online file software such as Google Drive or Evernote, and students can input their goals and goal progress in to these tools daily on tablets or other smart devices. ]]> 2019-04-19 23:30:03 UTC https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819201 dominique_bell https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819215 As background knowledge on students is obtained and reviewed, teachers can begin to note and comment student';s individual accomplishments throughout a unit/ school year. These can be simple daily assignments, events, changes in family structure, or other noteworthy achievements the teacher deems necessary to help buffer student's sense of achievement. 

Social media type enhancements would be extremely beneficial to this strategy, as students are very in tune to this variety of technology. Teachers can create a private twitter feed to call out student achievements and identify successes in the classroom. A tool such as Edmodo could also be used to enhance the privacy factor. ]]> 2019-04-19 23:30:19 UTC https://padlet.com/dominique_bell/o54s3xso6tkb/wish/352819215