Teaching

[Nemesis]

Old topic, new thread. btw: thanks george for the courtesy of a reply to an honest question as to why close a thread because it happens to go off point.

Anyway, if this thread doesn't get deleted, here goes:

The three most important principles in 'learning' are Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. The secret is in the variation of the repetition.

The three most important principles for 'teaching' are Preparation, Preparation, Preparation.

Remember you're teaching people, not content.

One of the biggest fears people have is speaking in public. Understand this fact and do what you can to overcome this fear in your students. Don't expect them to speak out in class because they are afraid of making a mistake and looking foolish in front of their classmates. Remember, you're asking them to speak in public in a foreign language they may not have mastered yet. Ease them into it and put them at ease.

Make the time spent learning fun.

Involve your students.

Tell me, I hear.

Show me, I see.

Involve me, I understand.

In my view a teacher's role is not to teach his students, it's to help them learn how to think and learn the subject matter on their own.

[Harry Palmer]

if you are nervous about standing in front of the class, talk to other teachers about their first teaching experience. practice in the classroom what you will say your first day...

make sure you know the material well. make handouts or overheads to help explain your point. if you will need figures or drawings, make them in advance...

knowing the students' names is important. some of you may have many students. consider having them fill out index cards their first day with their names, background, experience, reasons for being there, etc...

be friendly, encourage your students to talk and ask questions. do not be arrogant, rude, or demeaning. be clear. write as neatly as possible on the board...

make sure that you don't become emotially or sexually involved with any of your students (if they are over 18, then wait till they have finished the course, then it's ok to give them a good hard shag)...

[astral]

Very true.

I have been in the teaching business for over 30 years and

I still get nervous when I start a session with new students,

but after the first 5 minutes it has all gone.

[igotworms]

When working with younger students, it's probably best to start off strict. Set the ground rules. Make them clear and enforce them. Otherwise, the little ankle-biters will walk all over you. If you remain reasonable, and encouraging, the students will want to please you. Once that bond has created, loosen up a bit and enjoy the ride.

Introduce a reward system. Demerits are not the answer...when I was younger...we strove to see who could get the most demerits. Nothing that discourages should be used.

When reviewing a unit or topic, incorporate it into a team game activity...i.e quiz show, timed matching games, etc. Kids love competition and its a great way to keep them motivated for rehashing old subjects.

Tactile learning: kids of all ages acquire skills through touching, manipulating, experimenting, etc. Let them get their hands dirty. Challenge them individually and as a group. Problem solving is great for opening their analytical and creative minds. Let them be kids.

[Harry Palmer]

i am a great fan of the reward system.. i find that custard donuts are readily accepted by my younger students & a bottle of chang for the older ones... what other reward systems have you tried?

..btw, in return i encourage them to reward me with cash & 'favours', should they enjoy the lesson...

[mbkudu]

What ever happened to little gold stars?

[astral]

Introduce a reward system.

These are the gold stars...............

[Harry Palmer]

What ever happened to little gold stars?

you haven't done anything of note to deserve one, yet....

post something useful (like wot i do) & you could be the lucky recipient of -

[Ijustwannateach]

Actually, Nem, on close inspection this is one of the more practical posts I've ever seen you make- I can agree with almost all your points- good work!

"Steven"

[Ajarn]

When working with younger students, it's probably best to start off strict.  Set the ground rules.  Make them clear and enforce them.  Otherwise, the little ankle-biters will walk all over you.  If you remain reasonable, and encouraging, the students will want to please you.  Once that bond has created, loosen up a bit and enjoy the ride. 

Introduce a reward system.  Demerits are not the answer...when I was younger...we strove to see who could get the most demerits.  Nothing that discourages should be used. 

Absolutely great advice on classroom management!

[igotworms]

When working with younger students, it's probably best to start off strict.  Set the ground rules.  Make them clear and enforce them.  Otherwise, the little ankle-biters will walk all over you.  If you remain reasonable, and encouraging, the students will want to please you.  Once that bond has created, loosen up a bit and enjoy the ride. 

Introduce a reward system.  Demerits are not the answer...when I was younger...we strove to see who could get the most demerits.  Nothing that discourages should be used. 

Absolutely great advice on classroom management!

Learned through trial and error. Its a day to day learning experience with these little gaffers.

Thanks.

[Ajarn]

When working with younger students, it's probably best to start off strict.  Set the ground rules.  Make them clear and enforce them.  Otherwise, the little ankle-biters will walk all over you.  If you remain reasonable, and encouraging, the students will want to please you.  Once that bond has created, loosen up a bit and enjoy the ride. 

Introduce a reward system.  Demerits are not the answer...when I was younger...we strove to see who could get the most demerits.  Nothing that discourages should be used. 

Absolutely great advice on classroom management!

Learned through trial and error. Its a day to day learning experience with these little gaffers.

Thanks.

Yeah, I mostly learned the hard way, too..

In an earliear life as a DoS, a large part of my job was problem-solving situations where teachers (mostly new) were having problems with their classes. 90% of the time it was a classroom management issue, and in many cases, it was because the teachers didn't get off on the right foot by establishing their authority, as well as clearly setting boundries...and consequences, and being consistant...

I believe kids are very proactive in seeking their personal security, and part of that security comes from having limits set and backed-up... If they don't feel secure, kids tend to act out in the classroom, but sometimes in ways that are confusing to the teacher, too. I believe that they are seeking to have limits/controls placed on them at that point, and the sideways stuff is to get your attention....

The teacher who gets off on the right foot in the beginning, rarely ever has any kind of classroom management problems, in my experience.

As I mentioned before, I know how hard it is to be a kid teacher, and often the kids are the least of the teacher's problems. Often there is zero support for teachers, especially for farangs working in a Thai school with Thai teachers.

I've worked intimately with many many teachers, and in my experience, every teacher wants to do a good job. Every teacher tries and tries... If they get some support and encouragement, they will likely do fine. But when they get zero support, tons of office politics, crappy school food... Anyone can break

Food brings up a funny memory about a large school where we had about 30 teachers contracted there. We had other schools where we also had teachers working, but this one school was especially popular among some teachers because of the great food served at lunchtime.... At another school, which had truly garbage to offer, I had to bring some KFC or Pizza Hut to our teachers on a semi-regular basis to keep their spirits up..

[kenkannif]

What ever happened to little gold stars?

I think Thatcher when cutting costs (and the milk, the milk! Oh how could she?) stopped letting the teachers use them (T.I.C.!)

[bkk barney]

beat the little brats on the first lesson, 2 foot length of bamboo certainly does the trick.

ps, thanks for the gold stars ginger

[Ajarn]

When I was a kid, my school had a long wooden paddle for us naughty boys...

Printed in big letters across the front was, 'Board of Education'

[geo]

Tell me, I hear.

Show me, I see.

Involve me, I understand.

In my view a teacher's role is not to teach his students, it's to help them learn how to think and learn the subject matter on their own.

Certified teachers have this drilled into their heads. Excellent advice...

[Harry Palmer]

When I was a kid, my school had a long wooden paddle for us naughty boys...

Printed in big letters across the front was, 'Board of Education' 

ajarn, i really do think that reminiscing about the sado-masochistic goings on at your school is both highly distasteful and ... start a new thread please ...

where are the bloody forum moderators, not doin their job properly

[Ajarn]

When I was a kid, my school had a long wooden paddle for us naughty boys...

Printed in big letters across the front was, 'Board of Education' 

ajarn, i really do think that reminiscing about the sado-masochistic goings on at your school is both highly distasteful and ... start a new thread please ...

where are the bloody forum moderators, not doin their job properly

I never liked whiners as students, either...

[vanessa_vanillasky]

Introduce a reward system.

These are the gold stars...............

rewards inform of pencils and small tuti-frutti erasers

[Harry Palmer]

reward the students with a som tam party. once you have awarded enough students for several helping of the stuff, do the actual party. the students can still pay for their lunch. you can provide the soft drinks. if you let the students eat in the cafeteria, they will attract attention. perhaps you could place a sign on the table indicating why they were allowed to have som tam.