Introduction
Teachers play a big role in helping students grow as learners. This is especially true for kids who are in a competitive environment or those who face challenges that can hold them back from achieving their potential. Here are five teaching strategies to help your students become better competitors instead of trying to be “the best.” Let’s get started:
Don’t compare students.
Judging students based on their performance alone is not the best way to get them to succeed. The way you judge your students can have an impact on how they learn, and this is especially true in a competitive environment where there may be limited resources or time.
For example, if you’re comparing one student’s test score with another student’s exam grade in the same class, it could lead to feelings of jealousy and resentment toward your other student. This can cause them to become less motivated or even give up on their work altogether.
Instead of comparing your students’ performance as individuals or within small groups, try focusing on everyone’s progress as a whole class instead of breaking them down into smaller parts.
Encourage them to be their best, not better than others.
The importance of competition can’t be overstated. Being competitive is a healthy way to improve yourself and your performance, but you have to make sure that the competitive drive in students doesn’t get in the way of their growth. Your concept of teaching about the competition should be focussed on their potential.
Teachers should encourage students not only in their own personal growth but also in competing with themselves, not other people. In other words: focus on what students have achieved and what they need to do next rather than comparing themselves with others every step of the way (and getting frustrated).
Want to learn more interesting teaching strategies? Check 100+ Free Teaching resources on Suraasa.
Make a point of celebrating the individual.
It’s important to recognise and celebrate the individual. Celebrate successes, big or small! The student who has achieved a perfect score on a test is just as deserving of recognition as one who has scored higher than everyone else. Encouraging students’ confidence with praise will help them grow in a competitive environment because they’ll feel more secure in themselves and their abilities.
Finally, remember that learning from success is easier than failure. When you’re teaching your class about the formula for finding slope or the Pythagorean theorem, for example, don’t focus exclusively on negative examples—instead, show them what happens when everything works out just right (the sides are congruent) or when something goes wrong (the sides aren’t congruent).
This concept of teaching can go a long way and help you become a favourite teacher of your students.
Show students how to be good sports.
Whether they win or lose, they should show their opponents respect at all times. Showing respect doesn’t mean letting them win, but it does mean not gloating when you win and not being a sore loser when you lose. A good sport congratulates the winner and accepts defeat graciously.
It is also important for students to learn that winning isn’t everything—it’s taking part that counts! If a student can accept losing gracefully, it means he or she will be able to handle defeat better in life than someone who cannot handle losing gracefully at games of any kind.
Teach them to be proud of their own efforts.
Are you teaching them to be proud of their own efforts?
A student who runs a race and gets a gold medal is undoubtedly proud, but the student who runs just as fast and finishes in fifth place may feel like they didn’t do well enough because they didn’t get a medal.
If we tell our students to focus on what they can do better next time instead of being frustrated with themselves for not getting a medal, then we are helping them learn how to be proud of their efforts.
Help them learn how to achieve their potential rather than worry about what others are doing.
In order to help students grow, teachers can teach them how to achieve their potential rather than worry about what others are doing.
To do this, it’s important that you focus on the things that matter most and help your students learn how they can use their own talents in a unique way.
Conclusion
The key to helping students grow in a competitive environment is not to focus on what other people are doing but rather on providing them with the tools they need to be their best. This means teaching them how to be proud of their own efforts, celebrate the individual and show that good sportsmanship is important. In short, we need to help our kids learn how to achieve their potential rather than worrying about what others are doing.
