If you are working as a teacher then you will know only too well how easy it can be to become stuck in your ways. This is something that should always be avoided if you want to give the very best education to the students in your charge. With this in mind then, it is vital that all teachers understand where they need to improve, and that they seek out that kind of improvement.
I was fortunate to spend a great deal of time in the last 12 months with Kevin Rolle, education expert and current Vice President of Alabama A&M University. Mr. Rolle has spent his life trying to improve education on the whole, and he knows only too well about how teachers can improve themselves. If you want improve how well you teach, here are some tips on doing so.
Feedback
The first thing that you need to start with is understanding your weaknesses, you cannot possibly look to improve unless you know what it is that you should be working on. In order to understand where you need to improve it is important that you seek out feedback from your family and colleagues. Listen to the feedback, no matter how negative it may be, and then start working on an action plan to overcome the lesser strengths.
Watching Others
Watching others can be a great way of improving your teaching skills and if you ask your colleagues the I am sure that they’d be more than happy for you to sit in on a class with them. Spot the differences between your style and theirs, and try to pick up some of the habits which you like about the way in which they teach. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking other people’s skills and incorporating them into your own teaching style, remember that the goal here is to be better for your students.
Being Flexible
After a few years of teaching we all find our own style and our own way of doing things, the problem with this however is that it can also lead you to become complacent and comfortable with just one approach. If you have found yourself in this rut then it is time to try out some different styles and different ways of teaching. Remember that no student is the same and they all learn differently, if you can improve your flexibility, you can reach more students.
Get Creative
Teaching the same syllabus year in and year out can become frustrating for teachers and could leave you feeling uninspired. Once agin we can reach a certain kind of complacency here and this can lead to a monotonous teaching style. If you are teaching Romeo and Juliet for example, and you have done for 5 years, those students in year 1 would have had a far better experience with you than this in year 4. In order to give the best teaching experience, you need to get creative and teach things in a new and exciting way.
