I'M AFRAID TO ANSWER AT THE BOARD

“I'm afraid to answer at the blackboard. I know everything, I'll learn it, but I go out to the blackboard - everything immediately flies out of my head ... I mumble something unintelligible. Hands, legs, like someone else's. And then the guys are building faces. Here I generally forget everything ... I can’t imagine how I will pass the exams. With such complaints, schoolchildren often turn to a psychologist. And it's natural. After all, the answer at the blackboard is a performance, almost the same as the performance of an artist on stage. There is both an audience (classmates) and a critic (teacher). Moreover, this is not just a performance, but a performance for the mark, a performance where your knowledge and skills are tested. Well, how can you not worry?

But here's what's interesting. This situation (the answer is at the blackboard) is the same for all students, but the guys experience it and behave differently in it. for some, it does not cause any special feelings at all, others feel, “like before jumping into the water - both fun and scary.” Having answered, they usually cannot calm down for a long time, and, finally, the third is very worried, confused, even forgets well lesson learned.

What is it connected with? Of course, in many respects with how the student learned the lesson, how well he generally knows and understands that other subject, with how confident he is in his abilities. However, sometimes it happens. You really know the lesson well, and when, during the break, a friend asked to explain a difficult question ~ you did it easily, but they called you to answer, and you are suddenly convinced with horror that you forgot everything, some fragments of thoughts rush in your head, which, it seems impossible to unite into something single, the heart is beating fast and strong. If this is repeated often (and the teacher, of course, does not rate your answers too highly), then over time you can even get used to failures and, going out to answer, you will be ready in advance for the fact that you will always answer worse than you learned. Self-doubt will appear, which can then spread to communication with comrades (“They only pretend to be friends with me, but they laugh behind my back”).

In order to prevent this from happening, you need to learn to overcome your fear, your fear of answering at the blackboard.

Let's try to figure out what happens when you go out to answer. “It’s clear that,” you answer, “I’m worried and that’s all.” Right. But when does a person worry? Usually when for some reason he does not know how to behave, what to do, he is afraid to fail, to fail. Psychologists in such cases say that a person feels that he does not have enough funds to cope with the situation. And the more he wants to succeed, the stronger the excitement and fear. There are situations that are especially difficult to deal with and at the same time especially important. These situations, which make special demands on a person, are called “stressful” in psychology (from English word stress - tension). Answers at the blackboard and especially in exams are also a kind of stressful situation. You can learn to deal with them. For this, there are special exercises. By mastering them, you will be able to overcome your excitement. Just be patient and persevere.

Let's start with preparing lessons.

First, it is necessary to prepare lessons correctly.

But why does it still happen that, even knowing the lesson well, you get worried and cannot tell it? The thing is that when you prepare a lesson and when you answer it, you feel differently. A psychologist would say that you are in different emotional states. You learn a lesson at home, sitting (or even lying down) in a calm atmosphere, relaxing, and answering at the blackboard, you stand tense, excited. It is known from psychological research that the greater the difference in the states of a person at the moment when he receives information (for example, learns lessons) and reproduces it (answers), the more difficult it is for him to extract information from memory (remember). Therefore, we must try to bring these different states closer together.

First of all, for this you need to learn to imagine, imagine yourself in different emotional states. Try to imagine very clearly, in all details, what you feel, experience when you are completely calm, and what - when you are very tense. It is very good if you try to describe the states. Then, for several days, read excerpts from books, poems, sports reports, imagining yourself in one state or another. Only spend no more than 10 minutes a day on this exercise. When you learn how to do it easily, you can stop doing it. Return to him occasionally, especially before difficult situations when it is especially difficult for you to master your condition.

When preparing lessons, having learned homework, be sure to retell it (even if it seems to you that you know everything very well). Answer as if it were in class (i.e. imagine yourself in class answering at the blackboard). It is best to retell the lesson in front of a mirror (preferably one that allows you to see yourself in its entirety). When telling, watch your voice, posture, facial expressions, gestures. If you are studying together with a friend, then tell each other, but still use the mirror. Let him sit behind you so that, looking in the mirror, you see not only yourself, but also him. Watch his reaction. Then in the class, while answering, look at him again. Of course, you can tell a lesson not only to a friend, but also to your mother, brother. It is important that with the help of a mirror you can follow both yourself and the reaction of the listener.

When it is especially difficult for you to answer when preparing a lesson, take advantage of the advice given to athletes before important competitions. Think over mentally your answer in every detail, try to imagine everything that will happen - possible remarks from teachers and classmates, Petka on the third desk, who “makes faces”, etc. When imagining, try to imagine what you will experience, feel in these situations, how you will behave. And imagine the situation in all options, in all possible consequences and decide how to behave better in all cases (they ask an additional question, someone throws a sarcastic remark, etc.). It is very useful to imagine how those of your classmates whose answers at the blackboard you especially like, as well as those whose answers, in your opinion, would not be good, would behave in this situation. Consider all this after the lesson has been learned and recited, and you are convinced that you know it well. But do not spend a lot of time on this (no more than 5-7 minutes).

Memorize the answer plan, and when answering in class or retelling the lesson at home, try to stick to this plan. Whenever possible, prepare a "zest" for the answer, with which you could please teachers and surprise classmates (additional material, an interesting example, an original solution to a problem, etc.). Find the best place for her in terms of response.

Having prepared a lesson, try to figure out what mark you can expect (keep in mind that the mark is often influenced not only by how you learned the lesson today, but also by your previous knowledge in this subject). And what I mean is a “solid” mark, the minimum that you can count on. Write down this note.

When you are called to answer, go to the blackboard deliberately slowly, calmly, remembering the state in which you were retelling the lesson at home.

Formulate the purpose of the answer. But the goal should not be the mark that you want or are afraid to get, but what you have to talk about (for example, “I have to tell you how compound and complex sentences differ”).

When answering, try to speak calmly, clearly, watch your voice, how you hold your hands. The fact is that by the voice you can judge your experiences and feelings. For example, astronauts on spaceship, the main control over their emotional state is carried out by voice. But the voice (as well as gestures) not only “gives away” our state, but can also influence it - soothe, give confidence. Therefore, if you try to speak confidently, you can feel more relaxed. If you are asked an additional question, do not be afraid. Try to understand exactly what the teacher is asking. Having understood this, if you know the material, you can correctly answer the question. Just don't be so quick to say you don't know. Better warn the teacher that you need to think a little.

Don't be afraid to make a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes. If you answered incorrectly, made a mistake in solving the problem, try to correct it as much as possible. If your mistake was noticed by teachers and classmates, but you yourself could not correct it, remember it and analyze it at home.

It helps some when they seem to “play a role” when answering - “logic”, “erudite”, “romance”, etc., and change roles from lesson to lesson, from subject to subject.

After the answer (preferably at home). Try to analyze what was good in your answer, what was bad. First of all, think about whether you correctly formulated the goal of the answer and whether you managed to achieve it. Try not to think about the mark you got at first, and even more so don’t get discouraged if you got a mark below the one you expected (remember, you wrote it down). Divide the sheet into two parts. In one part (put + on top) write what, from your point of view, was good in the answer. In the other (put - at the top) - what's wrong. When you have done this, look at the paper and mark yourself as you would mark another person. Compare it with the mark you wrote down earlier and with the one your teacher gave, and try to understand what caused the discrepancy. If the mark is lower than the one you expected in advance, try to understand what exactly your shortcomings are and gradually eliminate them. If higher, analyze what made you successful and try to build on those strengths. Next time when preparing a response, give Special attention with its strong and weaknesses trying to maximize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses.

“A cowardly bunny”, “silent man”, “you can’t get a word out of him”, “myamlik” - and this is all about him - about a child who is afraid to answer in class, almost never raises his hand himself, and if asked, either just silent, or muttering quietly under his breath, or even crying at all.

It’s clear, it’s clear that you can’t leave this matter like this: both the child wants to help (he has a hard time), and the teacher (you also need to put marks somehow, but how to evaluate a student if you don’t get a word from him?).

So, what to do, where to start correcting such a difficult situation? And we will start, as it should be: with a search for reasons that could lead to fear of public answers in the classroom.

The reasons may be:

1. Ignorance, misunderstanding of educational material. I think everything is clear here: it is impossible to answer at least something if you basically do not know what to answer. As they say, if you knew, but forgot - it's not so bad, but if you didn't know and still forgot ... J

2. Speech problems: incorrect pronunciation, stuttering, etc. violations can lead to the fact that the child becomes complex and withdrawn, becomes insecure and avoids an unpleasant situation as best he can (i.e., he simply remains silent).

3. Self-doubt as a character trait (here, too, it is necessary to understand in detail, as a result of which it was formed), a high level of anxiety in the child.

4. Low sociometric status of the child in the class team (simply speaking, when peers “spread rot” on him and any of his actions can cause ridicule, mockery, name-calling, and sometimes physical aggression).

5. Excessively high demands on the child from the parents, when they want him to meet their sometimes unrealistic expectations and do not leave him the right to make a mistake, scolding and punishing him for any mistake.

6. Wrong behavior of the teacher. Unfortunately, this reason is very often in the first place (although I am indicating it here last). The way the teacher treats the student, what exactly and in what tone he says, what look he has, posture - all this has a very strong effect on children. If the teacher allows ridicule, caustic remarks and assessments, neglect, if he overestimates the requirements for a particular child (that is, does not take into account individual characteristics), then it should not be surprising that some children may experience fear or even panic horror before the answers in the lessons. Responsibility for this lies entirely with us, dear colleagues.

Well, the first important question is “who is to blame?” we have dismantled, now let's move on to the second: “what to do?”.

First of all, of course, it is necessary to eliminate the reason that causes fear to answer in front of the class:

· If you do not understand the educational material - fill in the gaps in knowledge. This can help the teacher, parents, tutors.

· If there are problems with speech, classes with a speech therapist are necessary, as well as observation and treatment by a neurologist.

With self-doubt and high level anxiety will not interfere with classes with a teacher-psychologist. But besides this, it is necessary to change the behavior of adults close to the child (parents, teachers) and their moral and emotional support, because. without this, all the efforts of the psychologist will simply go to waste.

· Recommendations for working with a child with a low sociometric status are described here (“Outcast child ...” - click, this is a link), so I will not repeat it. The help of a psychologist, if available, is also desirable.

In case of excessive demands on the child, it is necessary to work not so much with the student himself, but with his parents, explaining and showing with examples the consequences of such adult behavior and teaching the ability to understand individual and age features son or daughter.

Well, if the reason for the child's fear of answers in the lesson is ourselves, respectively, and we need to work first of all on ourselves, and then the student's problem will gradually disappear on its own.

And now the ultimate practical advice, what exactly can be done, to help the child cope with his fear and finally begin to speak (this is the time, and this is the main thing), and to enable the teacher to see the degree to which the student has mastered the program material and evaluate it (these are two).

So, you can let the child respond in writing rather than orally(do the task, write the answer on a piece of paper).

Or answer not in front of the whole class, but one on one with the teacher(for example, recite a poem by heart during recess or after class).

With a lack of understanding of the material or poor memory development, it can help use of supporting materials when answering(support schemes, plan, table, etc.). It goes without saying that the teacher needs to teach the child how to use it.

If the teacher has a trusting relationship with the student, then such a technique as answers in the ear.

Don't try to force such a student, at all costs, answer loudly and completely, and move towards this gradually: at first, let him simply repeat after others, give only monosyllabic answers or even a non-verbal (non-verbal) answer. For example, with the help of a raised hand (who thinks the same, raise your hands) or signaling devices.

Regardless of the cause of fear, it is imperative to provide the child emotional support: do not focus on failures, reward for courage (at first you can even increase the mark by a point), be sure to praise (someone is hot, someone is restrained, it depends on the individual characteristics of the student), and sometimes praise even for trying ( albeit unsuccessful). In doing so, use different types praise and encouragement: a kind word, a sincere smile, a thumbs up, applause, etc., etc.

If the child is not an outcast in the class team, then be sure to involve other children to help him: perhaps you will assign one of the best students to check his assignment, or organize work in pairs with someone or in a small group; arrange with other students for emotional support for him, etc.

Anytime at any opportunity emphasize dignity this student, even if they are very small, in your opinion, or completely unrelated to learning. This will help him believe in himself, in his strength, and become a little more confident, bolder.

Shape and train with him new patterns of behavior. Those. tell and show him exactly how he should behave when he is called to answer, how to cope with fear and insecurity, rehearse this situation several times. Naturally, this should be done only alone with the child, without outside spectators.

Well, and finally again: look for an individual approach to each such child. This truth, of course, is as old as the world, nevertheless, it is still relevant.

PMPK teacher-psychologist Elena Mikhailovna Belousova

“… Were you asked about physics today? You told me the whole paragraph wonderfully yesterday. It's a shame, because he could get a well-deserved five!
- No, I didn't answer.
- Did you raise your hand? You really knew the material!
- If I were called to the blackboard and asked something else, but I would not be able to answer. On the contrary, it’s good that it “passed”.

Probably, many parents have been upset more than once because, knowing educational material, tries not to answer in class until the teacher asks him. Sometimes saturated interesting facts the abstract or report is also left without the attention of the teacher and classmates. Why, instead of annoyance, disappointment and resentment, is relieved, and another time, also prefers to “sit out” at a desk than to answer brilliantly, tell a lot of useful things for the guys and get a well-deserved good mark?

There may be several reasons that force a child to be afraid to answer in class. Here are the two main ones: embarrassment and fear of seeming stupid, funny, uninteresting to others. If the teacher tries to support the shy child as much as possible, gives enough time for an answer, feels the children’s inner need for the teacher’s attention, then it will be easier for the child to raise his hand and volunteer to the board. A trusting and calm atmosphere in the classroom at the lesson and among peers at recess also has a powerful support for shy children.

From the age of 9, he can become extremely shy, very worried about external changes, a changing voice. A child may suffer because of the once negative experience of answering at the blackboard when something did not work out for him. Those who are not self-confident tend to see obstacles insurmountable for themselves in any business, therefore, even being remarkably prepared for the lesson, they are afraid to raise their hands, fearing that they will not be able to concentrate, tell interestingly or answer questions.

If the basis for the reluctance to answer at the blackboard is anxiety or fear of being unsuccessful and getting a negative assessment not only from the teacher, but also from classmates, parents and teachers should work together to convince the child to try at least once. The task of parents is to help the child to prepare so well this time that the experience of answering at the blackboard would be positive and the result would satisfy the child. You can ask for help and support from classmates in advance, taking advantage of their experience.

If he feels his competence, if he is respected by the guys, he worries much less that he will look stupid in this or that educational situation. Children who are not afraid to answer and ask questions in the classroom are more free to communicate both at school and outside of school.

Less capable children are less likely to show initiative in the classroom, as they consider themselves "not smart and developed enough." The task of parents is to help such a child find that academic subject or a number of subjects in which he will feel successful, together to understand the weaknesses and strengths of the child and try to provide maximum support in "not given" subjects. After all, learning motivation is made up not only of the intellectual abilities of the student or how interesting the teacher gives educational material. Here, the personal interest of the child and parents, as well as his internal self-esteem and self-respect, which contribute to the formation of a desire to disclose and supplement the level of their knowledge, are important.

How can you help your child not be afraid to answer in class?

• Try to rehearse the whole answer at home, tell the child where it is better to start his story, and how to end it. Become a real listener for him, discuss together the most interesting facts from the prepared material, calculate in advance the time required for a response. Teach your child to logically build any monologue speech.
• Support any initiative of the child: “The teacher told me today that you told the dialogue wonderfully when he asked you. I am so proud of you! Probably, if you yourself raised your hand, you would feel even happier!
• Discuss with your child the situation of increasing anxiety as the teacher calls everyone to the board in turn. Play at home" regular lesson”, so that you feel and realize that answering yourself at the beginning of the lesson is much easier than, worrying and worrying, waiting for a long time whether the teacher will call or not.
• Be aware of oral assignments in subjects, provide any assistance in finding additional material for a brighter and more interesting performance of the child.
• Try to determine what is more afraid and, if possible, solve this particular problem. Educational material that has been repeated several times at home, with additional interesting information, will help the child to believe that he will not be afraid to tell it at the blackboard.

How not to say?

• “I expect you to raise your hand tomorrow and volunteer to come to the blackboard!” With such phrases, you will only deepen the child's fear of public speaking to the manifestation of even greater anxiety or psychosomatic pain in the abdomen, head, etc.
• “If you don’t raise your hand yourself tomorrow, I will go to the teacher!” The child should see in parents and teachers, first of all, friends or, at least, allies. Do not intimidate the child. On the contrary, try to support him: “It is very important for me that you are not afraid to speak and answer, even if not always correctly. If this is difficult for you, we, together with the teacher, can help you!”
• “I thought that you would always be the first in everything, but you are afraid to raise your hand!” Exaggerated expectations and demands and the inability to meet them can contribute to the development of feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem in a child. The fear of being a "bad" student makes the child experience failure after failure, which then can contribute to the constant stay of the child in a stressful state.

“... If a parent is open to reasoning, he can teach his child not to be afraid to reason. If he himself is not ready for publicity, let him learn this together with his child ... "

Mykhaylyuk R. "Rise of parents"

​ 2013, Information and Psychological Center "White Elephant", http://www.wslon.ru

Does your child not want to answer in class?

How can you help such a child?

There can be many reasons for this behavior. For example,anxiety . In anxious children, the process of promptly formulating an answer is more difficult. Any unexpected task leads to an increase in anxiety and the child begins to "defend", for example, to behave passively or aggressively stubbornly.Anxiety and fear in the classroom hinder the development of motivation. Fearmakes the student perform an action, has a momentary desired effect, but in the long term the effect is negative - the whole situation of learning activitystained negative emotions overall motivation decreases. Anxious students miss out on a lot of information right from the start, becausetheir thoughts are focused on personal experiences. Such children mayShe needs help with the test.After a series of failures, the student demonstrates affective responses to the situation.educational activity.

The reason for refusing to answer may beslow learning . Such a child can only answer with a great delay. While he is looking for something to answer, the class has long been able to “pass the topic”. Over time, these children may generally give up all attempts to maintain a conversation.

In any case, the main direction of helping such children during the lessons is the formation of motivation. to study .

motivation understood as the use of the "carrot and stick" system(external motivation), or the development of the student's own motives, primarilyself-respect in activity (development of internal motivation).

Important to find mutual language with all students without division into strong andweak, to encourage all their good undertakings, goals achieved and a desire to learn.The teacher's attitudes are manifested during the survey through the types of questions asked, time for response and support, which greatly influences the motivation of the students.

Use to develop and reinforce desired behavior"gingerbread" - an award,positive reinforcement . It is important to choose the best wayreinforcements, since not all rewards successfully motivate. Sometimes what weconsidered as a positive reinforcement, can be perceived by the student asadverse effect or vice versa. Token program purposefullyuses a reinforcement system.

Punishment - a means of suppressing negative behavior byuse of negative sanctions or deprivation of encouragement. The teacher choosesthe basic approach (the ratio of the number of rewards and punishments), which heuses to influence students. The effect was significant for allmethods of influence with a predominance of encouragement.

Preferred activity principle ,

"Grandma's rule" states that a preferred activity can be used as a reward for participating in a less desirable one: "First do what I ask, then do what you want."

Come up with lots of reinforcements. Give the student the opportunity to come up with an encouragement or choose from existing ones.Discuss with other teachers and parents how to reinforce.

Focus on the positive. Make sure all students, especiallyproblematic, get reinforcement when they do something good.Praise students based on their individual characteristics, abilities andshortcomings (use individual assessment standards).

Match the student's success with his personal efforts and abilities so thathe gained confidence in repeated success.Make Sure the Reinforcement Is Really Positively Perceivedstudent.Praise for the slightest progress in the right direction, for positivebehavior trends. But the more habitual success becomes, the less praise should be.

Encourage the student to admit their mistakes: “You admitted that you cheated,this is a bold move. I won't punish you, do the task again."

Be consistent in your punishment.

Describe the desired change in behavior, offer a model for correctbehavior.

Communicate the rules in advance (or post the instructions on the board) and possiblethe consequences of their violation.

When reporting the consequences of misbehavior, do not exaggerate. Make sure that youcan actually carry out the threat.

Warn students that they will only receive one warning and then punishment will follow. Insist on action, not promises.

Make punishment inevitable and immediately following the offense.Evaluate only the actions of the student, not personal qualities.

Give the warning in a calm manner.

Speak calmly and firmly.

Avoid a vindictive or sarcastic tone, otherwise you will soon hear it from students.

Emphasize the need to stop specific problem behaviors,rather than express dislike in general.

Use punishment for a specific violation.

Ignore minor violations that do not interfere with the class.Stop misbehavior with a look or movementtargeted offenders.

Don't use homework as a punishment for talking in class.

If a student behaves defiantly in order to attract attention,remove it temporarily.

Choose the appropriate type of punishment for a particular student and case, otherwiseyou can back up negative behavior rather than reduce it.

So that students do not have a feeling of anxiety:

Gradually involve the student in frightening actions if you are sure of positive consequences (for example, ask the timid one to explain that heknows well).

Help students recognize and prevent fearful situations. Tell them about them in advance.

Use competitions with care. Observe the work of the group, make surethat none of the students is under undue pressure, is not humiliatedcomrades. During the competition, make sure everyoneEngaged students have a chance to succeed.

Avoid situations where very anxious students have to speak in front oflarge groups. Ask these children questions that can be easily answered.answer "yes" or "no", or other short remark, give them the opportunitypractice in front of small groups.

Before a quiz or test, make sure all directions are clear.Instead of just saying it out loud, write explanations for the text on the board. Askstudents to make sure they understand. Ask a few students how theywill perform the first task in the exercise. Avoid unnecessary time limits.

Remember! That with the wrong motivation, affectivereactions, such as withdrawal from activities and aggressiveself-affirmation or passivity and despondency.

Literature:

Bozhovich L.I. Studying the motivation of children and adolescents. M., 1972.

Educational psychology: Proc. For stud. higher textbook institutions / Ed. N.V. Klyueva. - M.: Publishing house VLADOS-PRESS, 2003. S. 361-368.

Chirkov V.I. Psychology of achievement motivation. Yaroslavl, 1994.

Many mothers and fathers realize that their child does not respond in class, knowing the educational material. The child hides behind the textbook until the teacher calls him to the blackboard. Sometimes it happens that the abstract full of interesting facts is left without the attention of the teacher and classmates. So why is the child relieved by this instead of upset?

The child is afraid to answer in class for the following reasons, we single out two main ones: embarrassment and fear of seeming stupid, funny, uninteresting to others. If the teacher tries to support the shy child as much as possible, gives enough time for an answer, feels the children’s inner need for the teacher’s attention, then it will be easier for the child to raise his hand and volunteer to the board. A trusting and calm atmosphere in the classroom at the lesson and among peers at recess also has a powerful support for shy children.

At the age of 9 years, the child may become very shy, because. worries about external changes, a changing voice. He may also suffer because of the negative experience of answering at the board when something did not work out for him. Children who are not self-confident tend to see insurmountable obstacles in any business, therefore, even being remarkably prepared for the lesson, they are afraid to raise their hands, fearing that they will not be able to concentrate, tell interesting stories or answer questions.

The task of parents is to help the child prepare so well that the experience of answering at the blackboard is positive and the result would satisfy the child. It is advisable to ask for help and support from classmates in advance, taking advantage of their experience.

When a child feels confident, he is much less worried about looking stupid in a given learning situation. Children who are not afraid to answer and ask questions in the classroom are more free to communicate both at school and outside of school.

Less capable children are less likely to show initiative in the classroom, as they consider themselves "not smart and developed enough." The task of parents is to help such a child find the subject or a number of subjects in which he will feel successful, to understand together the strengths and weaknesses of the child and try to provide maximum support in "not given" subjects. After all, learning motivation is made up not only of the intellectual abilities of the student or how interesting the teacher gives educational material. Here, the personal interest of the child and parents, as well as his internal self-esteem and self-respect, which contribute to the formation of a desire to disclose and supplement the level of their knowledge, are important.

How to help a child?