Sometimes, a Small Change Is a Big Achievement

What Does an E Mean to You?

I once had a student who loved football. You could tell how much he cared about it. He loved talking about football, playing it, and pretty much anything related to it. Learning, on the other hand, was a different story.

When I first took over the class, his performance in my subject was consistently an F. But the grade was only part of the story. He often put his head down on the desk and fell asleep during class. He didn’t seem particularly interested in learning, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting a dramatic change overnight. But slowly, something started to shift. He began staying awake a little longer. Then he started paying more attention and participating more. Little by little, I could see that he was taking his learning more seriously. Eventually, his grade moved from an F to an E.

If you only looked at the report card, you might think, “E? Okay… and?” But I knew what that E represented. It represented a student who had gone from putting his head down and sleeping through class to staying awake, paying attention, participating, and most importantly trying. For me, that E meant progress.

So I invited him to a one-on-one conference. I still remember how nervous he looked when he walked into the room. He looked like a student who was expecting to be told that he had done something wrong. I asked him, “Do you know why I asked you to come?” He looked worried. Then I pulled out a small reward. Yes. A lollipop. Nothing fancy. No certificate. No trophy. Just a lollipop.

I told him that I had noticed his progress. I noticed that he was no longer simply putting his head down and sleeping through class. I noticed him paying attention. I noticed him participating. Most importantly, I noticed him trying. And I wanted him to know that I had noticed.

I will never forget the look in his eyes. He looked genuinely surprised—almost as if he had never expected a teacher to call him in simply to say: “I noticed you’ve improved.”

That moment stayed with me. Because sometimes, students don’t recognize their own progress. Sometimes, we have to help them see it. And sometimes, they need someone else to notice it before they can see it for themselves.

A Simple Classroom Takeaway

That’s why, when I give feedback, I try to be specific. Instead of simply saying “Good job!”, I try to follow a clearer framework: Notice → Name → Connect

• Notice: What did I actually see?

• Name: What did the student do?

• Connect: Why does it matter?

For example: “I noticed that you stayed focused during the activity today. You used to put your head down quite often, but today you stayed with us and participated. I can see the change.”　Then, I invited the whole class to give him a round of applause. Participation was one of our class norms, and I wanted the class to recognize his effort, too.

When a behavior needs to change, I also draw on something I learned in one of my training sessions: the SBI approach.

• Situation

• Behavior

• Impact

For example, instead of saying, “Don’t behave like that. You’re making everyone uncomfortable,” I might say:

“During class today, when you were feeling frustrated, you hit the desk several times. That made some of your classmates feel uncomfortable and made it harder for everyone to focus.”

Then, I have a deeper conversation with the student once they have had time to calm down.

These are simple tools I’ve picked up along the way and try to use in my classroom. They don’t take much extra time, but they remind me to be specific. More importantly, they remind me to look beyond the grade or the behavior and notice the student behind it.

What Does an E Mean to You?

I used to think that students would automatically notice when they were improving. They don’t always. Sometimes, a student sees only how far they still have to go. They don’t see how far they have already come.

That student reminded me to pay attention to the small things:

• The student who stays awake a little longer.

• The student who raises a hand for the first time.

• The student who tries again after getting something wrong.

• The student who used to give up, but this time doesn’t.

Those moments may not look impressive on a report card, but they matter.

I’m still learning, too. Sometimes I get it right, and sometimes I don’t. But I’m trying to remember that teaching is not only about telling students what they need to improve. Sometimes, it is simply about noticing the progress they haven’t learned to see yet.

And sometimes, a little progress comes with a lollipop. :)