Understanding of Teaching Strategies

STOP -> GO -> IDEAL

• LESS 'Sage on the Stage' - too much readily accessible knowledge out there!
  

• Teacher becoming more of a background guiding figure - BUT - so we still have structured lesson but learning is about the student discovering for themselves rather than have the teacher tell them “this is how it is”.

• In my ideal learning environment ALL teachers would be competent and enthusiastic. Ideally teachers and students would be grouped together to exploit relationships that were most conducive effective to learning. (Logistical and testing problems with this).

1. Draw from the teacher pool of knowledge! - Share teaching ideas, resources and problems (i.e. This lesson worked well because... Trying to teach poetry this way was a total disaster because...). Teachers have different teaching styles, just like students have different learning styles.


2. Organisation (know your subject)! – At some point we will all teach a kid who is smarter than us! If you are not organised and go into a lesson unprepared, kids will collectively pick up on this … and play up!


3. Discipline in the classroom. BE CONSISTENT! HAVE EXPECTATIONS! Ask yourself..."how do you want the kids to see you?" (Brennan, 2007).
   
4. The world is NOT the same as in “my day”.


5. SNAPSHOT gives a clearer understanding of strengths and weaknesses. Can be used to snapshot a teacher, student, group of students, or a whole class.


6. BE ACCESSIBLE - a student should always feel they can ask when they need help.