Please teach me how to teach…?
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What experience do you have from high school where you have spoken in front of others and you have expected interaction back during your discussion? What different age groups have you worked with? What kind of students do you plan to work with?
The reason I ask these questions – teaching is like an interactive presentation – where the kids are just as much a part of the “presentation” as you are. Nowadays, the teacher courses talk about scaffolding versus lecturing. This means that when you walk in that school, the lesson you have prepared is “with” them, not “for” them. You need to get them excited about the topic you are going to teach by asking them what they know about the topic. Then they need to explore that topic through things you put together, be is books, hands on things, computer websites, videos, or discussions. Then you need to end the lesson with a discussion about what they discovered.
I did most of my learning how to teach by watching other teachers. I would hope in your “self-study” that you can put in there that you will contact 4 teachers in different grade levels (primary, elementary, middle and high) and go and just watch them for several hours. And have that time be set at a point which when you finish, you can ask that teacher all the questions you have about what they did and why they did it.
My first student teaching lesson – and even my first year was a big experiment. You will not come out of this study without questions. I still have a lot of learning to do and feel uncomfortable about things from time to time.
Teaching is an awesome career though. Yahoo Answers has had several people ask if it is worth it. Search those answers if you want to see pros/cons.
Good luck!
Always have an objective (or two) for the class period. Share if with students so they have a sense of where you are going with the lesson. (Check curriculum standards-usually found at the board office-for objectives that you should meet.) Encourage student participation in creative ways (especially for high school students!), and command the class with your presence. Don’t be afraid to give out punishments or reprimands; it’s the only way the class will take you seriously. An occasional homework assignment, project, test or quiz will help keep your students focused. And if all else fails, talk to other experienced teachers at the school…they’ll have the best advice for those particular trouble makers!
It also helps to be prepaired.
If I was teaching a history course I’d start by throwing out a few terms and see how many knew them a raise of their hand.
Feudalism. How many know that is. You look for hands. The Mercantile system who can explain it. Again look for hands.
Then you work your way backwards or forwards and see what they know about the various formations of social structure and government.
If I was teaching programming in BASIC, I’d see how many have already woked with BASIC and what flavors. Quick BASIC, Visual BASIC 4, 6, NET
I’d see how many have written their own programs and how many haven’t. I then might eventuate them further and break the seating into pairs of novice with a neighbor who has experience so they can help me teach.
If EVERYONE in the class has done some programming I wouldn’t even start with a HELLO WORLD example, it’s silly and waists time.
I’d get right into it with Keywords and Functions and see what they know and start work from where the knowledge level starts to go vague.
If I was teaching photography, video or cinema I’d start with the Camera Obscura and see how many blank faces there where.
For this I’d have a sun scope ready. That’s a big camera obscura from a box that the head can fit into and white paper for projection and then you simply turn them to the venetian blinds that has a vast amount of light coming through and show them the concept of image and image formation.
I’d spend $30 and get that Edmunds lens bench and maybe one or two laser pointers and set them up and use a blower with some talc to show the laser paths and show them how lenses bend light.
I used the glass of water with a pencil. Remind them of legs in a swiming pool and get into refraction.
I’d either have prepaired construction paper I covered with a matte to show them how bleaching from sunlight forms an image on the paper by altering or bleaching the color.
Then we’d get into silver, some of the girls might be familiar with a silver tray at home and how it turns dark. Get them involved.
This lays the foundation for the process and in most instances I wouldn’t need to feel the students out. College level students don’t know most of this stuff.
Demonstrations are good and getting the students involved, having them move lenses, move a sheet of paper to form the image (focus).
I like active participation. I might divde the room into fifdomes and assign royalty and share cropper and serfs and bandits and knights and sherrifs and let them see how the process of a feudal society works.
2. write out a summary of your class, type it out and take copies for the whole group;
3. prepare oral and/or written activities (or exercises);
4. rehearse your class; timing is very important as well;
5. think of a few objectives as you try to answer the following question: at the end of the class what do I expect students to know (or to do)? The answers (2, 3, maybe more) will be your objectives;
6. think of a nice way to “break the ice”, that is, try to come up with an introduction to your class that will grab students’ attention;
7. prepare a few questions of your own about the topic to be taught (but save them for a while); ask students to ask their own questions (a lot of times they ask excellent questions); if their questions are no good, try to answer them anyway; then, use your own;
8. do not simply teach; try to interact (address the whole class, look at them in the eye and, most of all, do not sit at the table the whole time; go to the board, write important information on it, draw pictures, if necessary; then, as you explain something, go from end of the room to the other; if anyone says anything, try to respond in an encouraging way, etc.);
9. be yourself!
It´s an amazing experience. You´ll love it!
Best wishes!
You are not in the classroom to perform. You are a facilitator who is responsible for all students to have adequate academic learning time in your presence.
I heard someone told her kids in the classroom that they were in her home away from home as guests. She promised them that she would treat them as she would for guests in her actual home. She also asked them to play nice as they would in someone else’s home.
