At Inurture Education, a company I work in, like every year, a group of 25 young graduates from premier engineering institutions were recruited on campus to be trained in latest technologies like machine learning/ IOT/ AI and such topics, only to be deployed as faculty members to teach in undergraduate engineering programs. After a month long immersion, they were to visit the office, and I offered to be a filler and speak to them about being a teacher. Sadly the corporate honcho's took more time than planned, and my talk got the axe ! Next best thing was to lean on my support and strength, my blog audience! The topic was 'on being a teacher' and my plan was to restrict my talk to a list of 10 points to remember.
Be Yourself : It is important for teachers to be comfortable in their shoes and tying to be someone they are not is not only a difficult act, it shows in the class, where you are scrutinized, judged, loved, hated, forgiven and so much more all at the same time.
Know your Students: Knowing is essential, though loving them will be really good. The background of the student, present knowledge of the subject, interests, world view, friends and more will help improve the quality of teaching manifold and improve the relationship too.
Be at Teacher; Understand the difference between knowing to be a teacher, which your faculty development program has taught you, Doing the work of a teacher, which is about taking classes, assessments and all that, and being a teacher , which is thinking, behaving, living the life of a teacher. All of us can remember teachers who fit into each category, and obviously the most effective and loved are those who were teachers inside and out.
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare - What that also includes is research which is major component of preparation, as are pedagogy, board plan, teaching aids etc. The more one prepares the more effective the class and better learning outcomes, this is definite.
Start from where majority of students already know. Many times, the curriculum/syllabus is so much emphasized that we forget that the starting point for knowledge transfer is to understand precisely what the students currently know.
Retool yourself both about domain knowledge and about teaching- Post google teaching is so different as is International Business after Donald Trump. We need to learn skills and knowledge the is recent and relevant. Change is a constant and adapting is the only acceptable response.
Get Feedback both from students and colleagues. We should know what works and does not in a classroom. This again keeps changing so it is important to get feedback about content, teaching method, evaluations, the black board at the end of the class....everything!
Reflection is unfortunately becoming a lost art with the emphasis on speed in most spheres of our lives, however for teachers, it is critical tool, actually much more than a tool. Find time to reflect about everything. I believe teachers can contribute more to the world and to their students if they find time to reflect to improve creativity, become more aware of oneself and emotionally intelligent.
Connect to the life of the student: Teaching will be most effective when the learner is immersed in the process and has motivation. It is essential for teachers to connect the subject to the life of the student. This should happen in every class to improve the learning outcomes.
and finally
Spread energy and happiness in the classroom. There is so much negativity around that teachers can be that whiff of fresh air and infuse energy among students by being teachers who are energetic, cool, happy and relaxed. It is an important function of being a teacher to spread happiness , joy and energy.
My best wishes to all the young first time teachers and do hope you have a wonderful journey of touching the lives of many individuals !
Be Yourself : It is important for teachers to be comfortable in their shoes and tying to be someone they are not is not only a difficult act, it shows in the class, where you are scrutinized, judged, loved, hated, forgiven and so much more all at the same time.
Know your Students: Knowing is essential, though loving them will be really good. The background of the student, present knowledge of the subject, interests, world view, friends and more will help improve the quality of teaching manifold and improve the relationship too.
Be at Teacher; Understand the difference between knowing to be a teacher, which your faculty development program has taught you, Doing the work of a teacher, which is about taking classes, assessments and all that, and being a teacher , which is thinking, behaving, living the life of a teacher. All of us can remember teachers who fit into each category, and obviously the most effective and loved are those who were teachers inside and out.
Prepare, Prepare, Prepare - What that also includes is research which is major component of preparation, as are pedagogy, board plan, teaching aids etc. The more one prepares the more effective the class and better learning outcomes, this is definite.
Start from where majority of students already know. Many times, the curriculum/syllabus is so much emphasized that we forget that the starting point for knowledge transfer is to understand precisely what the students currently know.
Retool yourself both about domain knowledge and about teaching- Post google teaching is so different as is International Business after Donald Trump. We need to learn skills and knowledge the is recent and relevant. Change is a constant and adapting is the only acceptable response.
Get Feedback both from students and colleagues. We should know what works and does not in a classroom. This again keeps changing so it is important to get feedback about content, teaching method, evaluations, the black board at the end of the class....everything!
Reflection is unfortunately becoming a lost art with the emphasis on speed in most spheres of our lives, however for teachers, it is critical tool, actually much more than a tool. Find time to reflect about everything. I believe teachers can contribute more to the world and to their students if they find time to reflect to improve creativity, become more aware of oneself and emotionally intelligent.
Connect to the life of the student: Teaching will be most effective when the learner is immersed in the process and has motivation. It is essential for teachers to connect the subject to the life of the student. This should happen in every class to improve the learning outcomes.
and finally
Spread energy and happiness in the classroom. There is so much negativity around that teachers can be that whiff of fresh air and infuse energy among students by being teachers who are energetic, cool, happy and relaxed. It is an important function of being a teacher to spread happiness , joy and energy.
My best wishes to all the young first time teachers and do hope you have a wonderful journey of touching the lives of many individuals !
