Teaching Methods
The world today holds teaching as a significant backbone towards passing knowledge from one generation to another. In turn, it helps them to acquire skills and values. This skills and values model them to be better and creative in society. Teaching can be done formally where the student is homeschooled or informally in a classroom set up. The various technologies used in this profession can either be effective or ineffective.
I recall having a teacher who when he or she stepped into the classroom the whole class would light up and those who were in their comfort zone would snap out of it and be ready to learn. Though none of us likes to acquire at times, when they come in, the idea fades away and would always look forward to the next session with them. The method that the teacher used enabled one to interact with them on a whole different level (Muijs, 2017). They would involve us through class discussions, where the students were given time to discuss a matter within a time frame, then relay the response. It proved to be a good step since we were able to learn from each other through the teacher’s guidance.
According to Muijs (2016), a metacognitive strategy also proved to be a suburb way of laying an information in the classroom. Through this, the students are engaged in planning and organizing their work. We did this by coming up with debates that involved various topics. Thereby every one was to come up with ideas that would enable their stand to be as affirmative and convincing as possible, to prove a certain point of discussion in the debate.
Moreover, relating the day’s lesson to the day to day life of the student proved to be a significate play towards making us understand a particular concept (Wieman, 2016). The student is to give an example which relates to the topic of discussion — for instance, educating them on the effects of drug abuse which is an epidemic to the society as well as their health. The teacher would relate this to days when he or she was an addict if so, and help to explain giving a vivid picture of what drugs do to one’s life.
Teaching can also be ineffective in some cases when considering how the teacher puts across their ideas. Making the students always to take notes is a good way of keeping them alert and involved (Wieman, 2016). However, giving them a lot of records and not explaining to them, makes the students concentrate more on what they are writing rather than what they are learning. This method will make them extraordinarily bored and even start to daydream and build castles in the air instead of comprehending the lesson.
According to Wieman (2016), falling to mix it up during teaching where the teacher comes to class with some routine over and over again. They teach the same way year in year out until the students can anticipate what is next without out being told or instructed. An example is coming to class with the same aim of giving notes and assignment then leaving. As a teacher, one should be interactive with the students to enable them to ask questions and also take a break and tell stories as well as cracking jokes.
Teaching is, therefore, an art that differs from one individual to another. It relies on the mode that one uses, which can prove ineffective or useful. I would recommend that teachers be more interactive with their students, always relate to living examples when teaching and finally giving the students a platform to explain themselves and their ideas to be heard. By doing so, the learning process will be the most effective and enjoyable, not only by having the students looking forward to the next lesson but also learn and acquire knowledge and skills for the betterment of their lives as well as the society.
References
Muijs, D., & Reynolds, D. (2017). Effective teaching: Evidence and practice. Sage.
Wieman, C., & Welsh, A. (2016). The connection between teaching methods and attribution errors. Educational Psychology Review, 28(3), 645-648.