Learning and Building Confidence

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Learning and Building Confidence

  • April 7, 2021
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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When it comes to helping higher grade levels, Shea Burgeson at St. John Lutheran School in Rochester, MI has found that providing support to her students not only improves their schoolwork, but improves their confidence as well. She shares with us:

“When I started at St. John Lutheran School in September, I began push-in services. This means that I sit with the students in their general education classroom. My fellow LSEM teacher Stephanie and I have three face-to-face 8th graders, and one virtual 8th grader on our caseload who need extra help with math. The algebra teacher who teaches the class that I now sit in has been very accommodating! I have a desk at the back of the room and he purposely seats me next to the students who I am in the room for. I look rather young, so I blend into this algebra class quite easily!

When I first started working with these students, one was not taking notes at all and would show his “work” by copying down answers from the answer key. The other student was not utilizing her notes to help her and was apprehensive about asking questions. The student who was virtual at the time only checked in with Stephanie twice. The completely virtual student was checking in regularly but was struggling with the concepts.

Since I have been working with these students, one of them has gone from failing every single assessment to now getting C’s or C+s for a good amount of them. She uses her notes (one of her accommodations) for her assessments now and it seems to be really helping with her confidence. She even asks me questions in class now! The student who was not taking notes now takes very good notes and while he still struggles with assessments, he is comfortable talking through problems with me. The once virtual student is now in-person and she comes to our open study hall all the time and is very comfortable asking for help. Lastly, the completely virtual student can work through problems with me over the computer and I am more of a guide to him now. All in all, I know these students have been making great strides and I hope they continue to grow throughout the rest of the school year.”