HOW TO BE A GOOD TEACHER

November 26, 2023 Educator's Corner

Israel Gil A. Lacay

Teaching is one of the most important professions in today’s society. As a Teacher, you will shape the minds of others and encourage them to think independently. To become a good teacher, it’s important to be organized. Create lesson plans, objectives, activities, and assessment plans well before each class day. Get your students interested in learning by fostering a positive, supportive, yet challenging classroom environment. Seek out other teachers for assistance, too.

Listen to your students. Ask them open-ended questions after they’ve made a statement. Encourage them to ask you questions as well. Show that you are listening to them by nodding your head or gesturing for them to continue. Give them eye contact while they are speaking and try your best not to interrupt, unless you must redirect the conversation. Being an active listener shows your students that you respect their voice in the classroom.

They will be more likely to give you respect as a teacher in return. It’s also a good idea to model for your students how to respectfully listen to someone while disagreeing with them. Keep students on task. Set time limits for classroom exercises or activities. In discussions, use your responses to their remarks as a classroom management tool. Push your students to succeed.

Try to create an environment in which your students will be constantly intellectually challenged. Let them know that it is okay to fail on occasion. You want to strike a balance between setting too high of goals for them and being a push-over. Use your students’ progress to guide your way. They should be steadily improving, but not without considerable effort

(Linetsky, 2023).