Sandra Chapman was determined to add to her repertoire of teaching skills as she entered her second year of teaching. Her first year as a high school teacher proved to be more of a challenge than she...

Sandra Chapman was determined to add to her repertoire of teaching skills as she entered her second year of teaching. Her first year as a high school teacher proved to be more of a challenge than she expected. Her school, located in the heart of the city, drew students from all walks of life and economic circumstances. Last year, she initially hoped that all of her students would master the history curriculum that she had inherited, but by midyear several of her students were not attending class on a regular basis. In an effort to increase attendance, she took points off students’ grades when they missed class and intentionally ignored them when they returned. She believed that by not taking an interest in where they were, she would not reinforce their “skipping” behavior. She also thought that by continually reminding students of how much they did not know, she would encourage them to study. Sadly, these methods did not work well, and attendance only further declined. She is now in the process of designing some new strategies.

4. Identify the methods Sandra Chapman uses to encourage attendance, and explain why these methods might have been unsuccessful.

5. What advice would you offer Sandra Chapman as she prepares to develop new methods?