Intermediate Teaching Skills | Origin: ED151
This is a general discussion forum for the following learning topic:
Developing Highly Effective Teaching Skills --> Intermediate Teaching Skills
Post what you've learned about this topic and how you intend to apply it. Feel free to post questions and comments too.
Knowing how to read the room and finding ways to connect with students allows for a better teaching/learning experience.
Through my teachings, I like to incorporate life experiences into my lessons and discussions. I'll share some of the flaws or mix ups that occurred, and how I overcame them. It makes us more relatable rather than feeling separated or on a higher plane. Even as an instructor, I'll always be a student who wants to continue to learn.
Making an environment with flexibility will expose, more effectively, the spots where students need help. Encouraging the asking of questions, or just asking where people feel they need help can go a really long way. Flexibility can expose the weak points in curriculum in a way that make the addresable.
I learned that paying attention to how students respond and communicate can help us recognize when they may be struggling or need additional support. Sometimes using a different explanation can make all the difference in helping a student.
We can incorporate out intuition into how we guide and assist students throughout a course. This in tandem with more traditional teaching approaches might be more effective than one or the other alone.
Connecting with students helps create an environment where they feel supported and confident in their learning. By building that connection, instructors can break down barriers and make complex material easier to understand
It's important to meet students where they are and be considerate of the things they go through as people.
Connecting with students allows for a hopefully greater understanding of the material and helps break down walls to ensue they can use the learnings for their benifit.
I think connecting with the students can have a greater impact than a grade.
Knowing how to read the room and see when a student is struggling even though they may not say so. I like the Cher quote: "If you aren't ready or willing to look foolish, then you aren't ready for the possibility of being great". My paraphrase of course.
The benefits of reading a room are bountiful. Really observe how students are reacting to instruction and test grades.
Encouragement and empathy can go a long way in supporting a student with issues they may be experiencing.
There is no one way to teach a topic.
Knowing that I am making a difference in the student's knowledge goes a long way in remembering that students are aware of the positive impact an instructor can have.
I think it's important to learn how to adapt to different students and their learning needs. I want to keep improving how I explain concepts, encourage participation, and give feedback that helps students understand what they can improve on without having them feel discouraged.
Reading the room and adapting to the scenario for the betterment of the class as a whole makes sense to do, especially after seeing some great teachers do this technique when I was in school.
The quote from Thomas More was very iconic too and would be one that I put on a wall.
It's not about fame. Seeing a student have that "a-ha" moment with the lightbulb is beyond priceless.
In my opinion, those are the "out-of-the-box" strategies that we, as instructions, should consider when teaching. Using intuition, for example, we can read the room and detect many things that are not part of the traditional way of running a class. We can easily pick up difficulties from a student, by simply reading the body language. Creating strategies to lead students to learn through questioning is way more effective than simply talking non-stop for over 2 hours. We have ways of bringing the students closer to our reality, reducing the distance between instructor and student. At the end of the day, a good instructor wants to have his / her students to succeed and those strategies can help with that.
This was a compelling statement to me out of the gate, "Highly effective instructors understand the importance of integrating skilled questioning throughout their lessons. One excellent instructional technique is the Socratic method, which involves asking of a series of short and simple questions to guide learners through the lesson. The answers are not necessarily revealed right away, but the questions will cue the students to ask their own questions. An instructor can manage multiple students working at different levels by adjusting the questioning level and the number of questions."
You can intuit a lot from a way a student is conducting themselves, through their body language and what they're actually saying, through their reactions, and more. Being able to sense where a student's at mentally is crucial to developing strong instruction.
Student-centered learning incorporates intuitive abilities. Emotional Intelligence is a must for instructors. It is okay to make mistakes, be human. It is okay to show the students that we as humans can not possibly know everything.
Intuition, introspection, self-awareness, and the ability to read the room are important factors in effective teaching, allowing instructors to recognize students’ needs and create a more supportive learning environment.
This reinforces the importance of building students' confidence and helping them become more independent learners. I plan to continue finding ways to encourage students to think critically, problem-solve, and take ownership of their learning.
