Improving student equity in your classroom is a critical part of ensuring that all your students have the tools they need to increase their odds of success. Unfortunately, many students from diverse backgrounds are more likely to struggle in the classroom. Students living in poverty or low-income families are seven times more likely to drop out than students from families who are generally better off. Children who live below the poverty line also have a greater overall likelihood of a developmental delay or learning disability–and less than 30% of students in the bottom quarter of incomes even enroll in a four-year school.
Furthermore, African American and Hispanic students have a higher likelihood of struggling in the classroom. By the time they reach twelfth grade, they are often as many as four years behind academically. As their education progresses, they may struggle with ever-increasing academic struggles.
Fortunately, there are several strategies that you, as an educator, can do to improve student equity in your classroom–and provide students with the tools they need to succeed. Pronto could be one of the most valuable tools in your arsenal.
Instant Language Translation
Many students struggle most when content isn’t taught in their native language. You may have Hispanic students in your classroom whose first language is Spanish, not English–or you might have international students who prefer their native language to English. Pronto will automatically translate classroom communications into students’ chosen language.
Not only does this make general comprehension easier for many students, but it may also provide the essential connection that students need to increase their investment in your classroom–and to make your classroom generally more accessible to those students. They can even ask questions in their native language, using natural phrasing or expressing concepts that they might not be able to express in English–and receive answers in a way that they’re better able to interpret.
Instant Chat Through Mobile
Pronto’s instant chat feature is accessible via mobile as well as on desktop devices. For many students, this is simply convenient: it means that they can access Pronto no matter where they are and what they’re doing. For disadvantaged students, however, it offers another critical element that can help enhance their performance in the classroom: accessibility. Many low-income students may not have computers at home. They might not have access to the internet. They may also have to take on many of their learning responsibilities, including homework or collaboration with peers on a project, on the go: while on a break at work, for example, or during a bus ride to work or another location. As a result, they won’t have to wait until they get back on campus to ask vital questions or to connect with either you or their peers–and they’ll often show enhanced academic performance since they have access to the tools they need.
Read Receipts for Messages
Not only can you send out communications through Pronto, but you can also check to see who has read them. For many teachers and professors, those read receipts can prove critical. They tell you one key thing: whether students have actually accessed and read the announcements, assignments, or communications you’ve sent out.
Those read receipts can have some key advantages. First, they make it easy to see who logged in and took a look at a specific assignment or message, which can let you know which students might be slacking or where they might be struggling. In addition, however, they can let you see whether a student really did access a message and if the content was just “lost in translation.” Often, this can help you better develop your overall phrasing or your future classroom communications so that you’re better able to address any potential problems and avoid losing track of the information you want or need to share.
Finally, you can get a better feel for which students are engaged in the class–that is, the ones who are most likely to log in and take part in virtual discussions–and which ones are not. Ultimately, that can help you gauge student engagement, which could prove critical when the time comes to hand out grades for participation.
Offering equal opportunities and student equity for all students in your classroom is impossible. With Pronto, however, you can go a long way toward providing all the students in your class with the tools they need to be more successful. Contact us today for a free demonstration.
