Creating Independent Learners

Of the thousands of things that have surprised me as a first year teacher, one of the most surprising is how "needy" some of my students can be. Many of my students need affection, attention, or additional support because of their age or because of a situation at home. Many need a pencil (EVERY day), extra paper, better organizational skills, etc. Although these needs are very real, the neediness that I'd like to discuss here is solely academic.

There are some of my students who rarely need to be reprimanded or "re-directed." They seem to have a sixth sense about what's coming next and what's expected of them - sometimes their sixth sense can be in overdrive, but nevertheless I consider this group of students very independent. Other students require my undivided attention - I'm constantly checking to see that they're on task, constantly asking them to focus in class, or constantly re-explaining directions. We might explain the difference between these groups of students as a difference in maturity.

In addition to the differences in a student's focus and drive, I also see a difference in their test taking skills. When given a test or a quiz, most of my students work straight through. Sometimes they read directions and sometimes they don't, but they answer each question in sequence and often never look back. However, some students read and re-read each question very skeptically as if I'm trying to trick them. (Perhaps I should note here that I try to make my tests very black and white. I have had to learn how to write tests simply by writing them, so there have been instances where my directions are vague or ambiguous, but I'm not including those instances in this discussion.) Then, after re-reading, they come to my desk and ask, "Mrs. Gosnell, do you mean that I should insert restatement of same directions the student has read?" And I reply "Yes, student Y, I do mean that you should insert restatement of directions the student has read." This could partially be due to test anxiety, but I find it hard to believe that is the case in every situation.

Finally, I've found that many students would much rather me tell them the answer than to a) go look for it, b) figure it out alone, or c) repeat to me what we've just learned (and often what's still written on the white board). Option "c" is what really gets to me! I suppose that I expected this last sort of dependence (also known as laziness), but unfortunately that does not make it any less frustrating.

How do I teach these students independence without leaving some of them "hanging out to dry"? How do I  force them to work alone without some students not working at all? How do I allow them time to think on their own without many of them simply waiting for "the smart kids" to answer? Where's the balance?