Teaching can be challenging, exhilarating, stressful and rewarding all once. It is a profession that requires continued growth, open mindedness and flexibility. Following these steps will help you on your way to becoming a successful teacher.
- Continue your own education. The first step to becoming a successful teacher is to never stop learning.
- Be organized arid go into day with a structured, well prepared lesson plan. However, realize that the day may not always go as intended. Often, a class may lead a lesson in a direction you weren’t expecting, but it’s important to be flexible and allow for the fluidity of learning.
- Implement classroom management procedures. Spend a few days or weeks in the beginning of the year explaining and practicing each classroom procedure, from how to enter the classroom to how to turn in work. Once students understand each procedure, there will be minimal confusion during the rest of the year and more time to learn.
- Differentiate instruction. Most students learn information one of three ways visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Visual learners learn from writing or drawing, auditory learners learn by hearing or verbalizing and kinesthetic learners learn best by experiencing a new concept. Always introduce new information in all three of these ways, if possible. Then, when practicing concepts, give students opportunities to use their other intelligences as often as possible.
- Meet your students at the door in the morning and be enthusiastic throughout the day. If you are obviously excited about topic, your students will be as well. Likewise, if you are grouchy and unapproachable, your students will also act in this way. Applying these strategies will create a warm and nurturing atmosphere and allow students to feel comfortable asking questions about new material.
- Involve the families. Parents are a child’s first teacher, and they know their child the best.
By: Mrs. Lyn Espiritu | Master Teacher I | Dinalupihan Elem. School | Dinalupihan, Bataan
