How can I be a good teacher?

Good Teaching Practices – A write up by N.M.Gururaj Philosophy and Goal The object of teaching is to inculcate among students the sense of Basic Knowledge of the subject and its various dimensions and instill among them the self-confidence to learn the subject with out fear or hesitation. I have a 20 point formula for successful teaching. 1. Intelligence, grasping powers and such other mental faculties are, very unfortunately, unevenly distributed among the students. Therefore, there is a great need to understand, treat and view each student and each class as a different entity and adopt suitable teaching methods. It is imperative that you communicate in such a way that each student understands what you are trying to convey. 2. Treat students as consumers of knowledge and sell them the stuff that they need with care and in a manner that is relevant, meaningful and memorable. Convey the importance and usefulness of what you are teaching. 3. Teaching is a noble profession. Care for your craft. Have a passion for teaching and convey this passion to the students. More than anything else you please do enjoy your teaching. If you do not enjoy it, do not expect the students to enjoy it. Teaching is all about confidence building; make the students comfortable. Prepare a foundation for them from where they can build their own castles. Show them the right way, the right approach to study and progress. 4. Make the classes lively and interesting. Good teaching is about bridging the gap between theory and practice. Try to strike the right balance. Drive home the essentials of grammar without them knowing that. Great many students dread at the thought of grammar. 5. Elicit responses from the quietest of students. Push even tacit students to talk. There is no other way to develop verbal communication skills. 6. Be human and responsive at all times. Good teaching is a about caring, nurturing and developing minds. You may have to devote certain time for the preparation; this is not visible to the students. Try to see a situation as the student would see. 7. Be flexible and fluid. Be prepared to experiment with new methods of teaching. Do not be averse to changes. 8. Be a compulsive listener. Do not snub them. What appears very silly to you may be very important to a learner. Be prepared to repeat, paraphrase, summarize, explain in detail and reinforce concepts by appropriate means. Support what you say, if necessary, with multi-sensory materials such as picture, diagram or demonstration. 9. Be mobile. Do not be stationary. Walk around the class. Use the black board. Conduct demonstrations. Engage the students in activities. Let the class be dynamic and lively. It is your responsibility to see that they remain alert. Do whatever is required to convey the meaning of subtle things that words do not convey. 10. Move from one step to another slowly and gradually. 11. Do not spoon-feed the students. Allow them to thing and act independently. 12. Identify the students’ areas of weaknesses and help them to overcome those weaknesses. Motivate them to learn faster and better. Sarcasm, ridiculing, humiliation, putting one to shame are inappropriate ways to address a student’s failure. Repetition is the key. Drill such students with repeated exercises to make them perfect. Explain difficult concepts in meaningful chunks or micro units so that the students can assimilate them easily. 13. Maintain eye-to-eye contact. Do not turn your face towards the board or any other object other than the students. 14. Be direct. Please don’t use ‘double negatives’ or complicate expressions to convey a positive thought. Pronounce clearly and with sufficient volume so that everyone hears you. Reduce background noises if any and eliminate distractions. 15. LEARN BY SAYING: Encourage students to verbalize; to say things aloud. It helps better absorption. 16. LEARN BY SEEING: Use simple, clear, well designed visual reference and aids such as maps, pictures, charts, diagrams etc. Make good use of the black board to emphasize a point. 17. LEARN BY DOING: Provide Role Play, demonstrations and simulations. Active participation augurs better understanding. 18. LEARN BY LISTENING: Let the students listen to the audio carefully. Teach them the art of making notes and recapitulate the thoughts later. Some of them may not be used to that technique. 19. Insist on doing the homework regularly. It is the only tool where you can judge and measure their progress. Provide qualitative, useful feedback of their homework. Help the students understand their shortcomings. 20. Do not lose patience with the students. They need your support in the learning process. Good Teaching Practices – A write up by N.M.Gururaj Philosophy and Goal The object of teaching is to inculcate among students the sense of Basic Knowledge of the subject and its various dimensions and instill among them the self-confidence to learn the subject with out fear or hesitation. I have a 20 point formula for successful teaching. 1. Intelligence, grasping powers and such other mental faculties are, very unfortunately, unevenly distributed among the students. Therefore, there is a great need to understand, treat and view each student and each class as a different entity and adopt suitable teaching methods. It is imperative that you communicate in such a way that each student understands what you are trying to convey. 2. Treat students as consumers of knowledge and sell them the stuff that they need with care and in a manner that is relevant, meaningful and memorable. Convey the importance and usefulness of what you are teaching. 3. Teaching is a noble profession. Care for your craft. Have a passion for teaching and convey this passion to the students. More than anything else you please do enjoy your teaching. If you do not enjoy it, do not expect the students to enjoy it. Teaching is all about confidence building; make the students comfortable. Prepare a foundation for them from where they can build their own castles. Show them the right way, the right approach to study and progress. 4. Make the classes lively and interesting. Good teaching is about bridging the gap between theory and practice. Try to strike the right balance. Drive home the essentials of grammar without them knowing that. Great many students dread at the thought of grammar. 5. Elicit responses from the quietest of students. Push even tacit students to talk. There is no other way to develop verbal communication skills. 6. Be human and responsive at all times. Good teaching is a about caring, nurturing and developing minds. You may have to devote certain time for the preparation; this is not visible to the students. Try to see a situation as the student would see. 7. Be flexible and fluid. Be prepared to experiment with new methods of teaching. Do not be averse to changes. 8. Be a compulsive listener. Do not snub them. What appears very silly to you may be very important to a learner. Be prepared to repeat, paraphrase, summarize, explain in detail and reinforce concepts by appropriate means. Support what you say, if necessary, with multi-sensory materials such as picture, diagram or demonstration. 9. Be mobile. Do not be stationary. Walk around the class. Use the black board. Conduct demonstrations. Engage the students in activities. Let the class be dynamic and lively. It is your responsibility to see that they remain alert. Do whatever is required to convey the meaning of subtle things that words do not convey. 10. Move from one step to another slowly and gradually. 11. Do not spoon-feed the students. Allow them to thing and act independently. 12. Identify the students’ areas of weaknesses and help them to overcome those weaknesses. Motivate them to learn faster and better. Sarcasm, ridiculing, humiliation, putting one to shame are inappropriate ways to address a student’s failure. Repetition is the key. Drill such students with repeated exercises to make them perfect. Explain difficult concepts in meaningful chunks or micro units so that the students can assimilate them easily. 13. Maintain eye-to-eye contact. Do not turn your face towards the board or any other object other than the students. 14. Be direct. Please don’t use ‘double negatives’ or complicate expressions to convey a positive thought. Pronounce clearly and with sufficient volume so that everyone hears you. Reduce background noises if any and eliminate distractions. 15. LEARN BY SAYING: Encourage students to verbalize; to say things aloud. It helps better absorption. 16. LEARN BY SEEING: Use simple, clear, well designed visual reference and aids such as maps, pictures, charts, diagrams etc. Make good use of the black board to emphasize a point. 17. LEARN BY DOING: Provide Role Play, demonstrations and simulations. Active participation augurs better understanding. 18. LEARN BY LISTENING: Let the students listen to the audio carefully. Teach them the art of making notes and recapitulate the thoughts later. Some of them may not be used to that technique. 19. Insist on doing the homework regularly. It is the only tool where you can judge and measure their progress. Provide qualitative, useful feedback of their homework. Help the students understand their shortcomings. 20. Do not lose patience with the students. They need your support in the learning process. read less