By Oyem, Israel Ekene
Aside from preparing the lesson notes and getting ready to deliver them in class, there are other things to put in place. A teacher can be well-prepared to deliver the topic, walk into the class, and deliver it professionally and passionately, yet record little or no effectiveness. Some important things need to be put in place before and after the commencement of the lesson to ascertain how successful the lesson is. This article discusses some things teachers are to put in place before and after teaching to ensure learning effectiveness is achieved.
As teachers, we need to understand we are dealing with human beings. If the minds of the pupils/students are not in the right frame to learn what we want to teach, it would be a waste of time even with the best teaching efforts. No matter how teachers try, if the pupils/students do not like the teacher, there is nothing such a pupil/student would gain from that class — it would always prove futile. Therefore, teachers should always maintain a welcoming countenance. Rarely would a pupil/student be at ease approaching such a teacher whose appearance seems unapproachable.
This doesn’t mean the teachers should come to the point of losing their respect or authority. There are ways to build approachable relationships with their students while still maintaining professionalism. If your relationship with your pupil/student is friendly yet respectful, there is a high chance that they would be willing to listen to what you have to say, compared to when you have that unapproachable relationship with their students. How about if you’re new to the school, how do you handle this case? Below are things you can do before and after the class to depend on classroom bonds and increase the chances of achieving an effective delivery of a topic in your class.
To create a positive relationship between you and your pupils/students is one of the easiest things you can do as a teacher. Once you enter the class on your first day, tell them that you like active participation and you’re likely to call on anyone to answer your questions. Reiterate that you don’t only celebrate correct answers, you also celebrate willingness to try and no one is a dullard in your class because everyone surely has something to contribute. With this being put into action for just two weeks, that approachable relationship would be built; they now feel free asking you questions.
There is also a technique called scaffolding in teaching. It is building brick by brick on the knowledge of the pupil/students. This is presenting the topic from an angle that the pupils/students have residual knowledge on. This way, it prevents the topic from being strange and appearing difficult. Gradually, you move from known to unknown the scaffolding technique, which in turn deepens classroom bonds.
Also, teaching should be spiced up with fun. Teaching shouldn’t be boring, otherwise, it results in unproductive teaching. There should be measures and activities put into our topic delivery that adds fun to the topic we are teaching. It could be remarks, pairing activities, questions and answers from both sides, the teacher and pupils/students. It all boils down to the creativity of the teacher. Also, once the topic has been delivered, the teacher should never believe that the pupils/students understood what was taught and simply leave. There are some things to use to ascertain the productivity of the teaching such as class exercises, tell the students to briefly explain what you taught — pick at random, asking questions, etc.
In conclusion, teachers should know that we are dealing with human beings. That we are in the right frame of mind to teach our pupils/students doesn’t mean our pupils/students are in the same proper frame of mind to learn. If they are not in the right frame of mind to learn, we can help them reconnect their minds to the class. There are other important things to put in place to help the pupils/students ready to listen to what the teacher has to teach, and to ensure the effectiveness and productivity of our teaching.
