WAYS TO IMPROVE TEACHING SKILLS
It has been said that teaching is a life long process of learning. Once a teacher stops learning or forgets her desire to learn, that teacher starts to become ineffective. The desire to learn brings a teacher closer to new and better skills and strategies that could be employed in the teaching process.
A good way to learn and acquire new skills is by attending regular refresher courses. Seminars and talks on teaching are effective ways of being reacquainted with teaching strategies of the past and the trends of the current teaching generation.
It would also be beneficial to evaluate oneself through self assessment or though the help of pupils. After the school year ends, it could help to retrospect on your accomplishments. It will also help to ask pupils on their feedback regarding lessons and the whole class for the year in general. Studies have shown that asking yourself these questions can help you evaluate and revise your teaching style for the year to come. Gather everything you can about what happened to better prepare you for what will happen next. Reflect on how you want to move forward with teaching the next time you step into a classroom.
The use of active and cooperative learning processes may also be employed to give you an edge in the teaching process. Cooperative learning (CL) is instruction that involves students working in teams to accomplish an assigned task and produce a final product while Active learning (AL) assumes that the attention of pupils can be maintained throughout a class session by periodically giving them something to do.
Shifting constantly between these two processes can give dynamism to your class compared to the regular lecture style teaching. Pupils are known to respond to these methods very enthusiastically since both involve the use of their body and mind while interacting with the teacher and classmates.
No matter how long a person has been teaching, there is always room for pedagogical improvement. Whether you are learning new theories, brushing up on the basics, or just adding a new technique to your list of skills, improving the way you actually teach should be a recurring feature on every teacher’s to-do list. Add some new teaching strategies to what you are currently doing. To learn one fast, take a look at my collection of instructional strategy videos demonstrating techniques like concept attainment, reciprocal learning, the Jigsaw strategy, and lots of others.
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The author is Teacher III at Balubad Elementary School, Porac West District