Do you really know what your students’ needs are?
In this episode of Inside the Teacher’s Mind, I sit down with English for Academic Purposes (EAP) tutor Kat Dixon to explore how teachers can better understand and respond to students’ needs — especially in the uncertain world of in-sessional teaching.
Kat: “The ambiguity is what I like — it forces you to really listen to the students.”
We discuss:
- How student reflection, peer talk, and teacher questioning can help identify student needs
- When to give students choice, and when to guide them
- How to offer one-to-one writing support effectively
For EAP and subject teachers in university, this podcast is the next best thing to peer observation, with insights you can apply to your own teaching.
Join me, Nick Maxwell, as we step inside the teacher’s mind.
Theories and concepts mentioned in this episode:
- CATs (Classroom Assessment Techniques)
- Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
- Scaffolding
- Co-construction (learning)
- Differentiation
Podcast theme music by Transistor.fm. Learn how to start a podcast here.
Thanks Kat and Nick for sharing this conversation. It was useful to hear Kat’s comment that teachers are not there to provide a cure for students and that we don’t need to feel the need to provide all the magic fixes to their work. Sometimes it is easy to fall into this mindset as a teacher, but of course it is far more supportive of student autonomy if we avoid this view of ourselves. Looking forward to the next installment!
I completely agree with Martha – fascinating discussion, and it was also helpful to be reminded not to be too wedded to a particular resource simply because as a teacher you’ve invested time and effort in making it, if it doesn’t serve the needs of your students. It can be hard to gauge what students truly need, especially if they’re shy, which is why diagnostic questions (eg ALWAYS/SOMETIMES/NEVER designed to catch a misconception) can be helpful.