Teaching Methods in the Classroom

Ultimately, there is only so many different techniques you can use to teach students in the classroom. As a former student myself, I found that I learned best when the teacher lectured. I have always had a gift for what I call “deep listening”. Often I can’t even turn it off. Basically, my brain is really good at absorbing information that is spoken in a clear manner. I excelled in college because of this. Looking back at high school from the vantage point of college, it all seemed like a giant waste of time. But, I digress

I found that as a teacher, what had worked for me as a student does not work on the average student of today. As a side note, it is very difficult for someone who has always loved learning and excelled at school to relate to the average student at all. Whereas a good student reads the textbook, even if the teacher does not ask them to, a bad student will avoid it at all cost. Whereas a good student always tries to complete their homework and stresses if they do not, a bad student does not even register that they have homework, but instead goes home and it never crosses their mind again. Whereas a good student is a copious note taker in class, a bad student can’t be bothered to take out a pencil. I could go on, but the point is that as a teacher who was a good student, you come into the profession assuming that most students are like you, when in reality, most students are the latter.

So, how do you teach those students who resist learning with all their might? I wish I could say that there is one foolproof way of doing so, but the most important quality that you need as a teacher is; patience.

Needless to say, you can’t come into a class of average students and just begin talking about the Roman Empire and expect them to listen, to care, or to learn anything from you pedantic lecture. Instead, what is important is procedure. You have to have a customary procedure that students are used to. A pattern if you will of the way things run in your class. For example, your pattern may consist of copying objectives, followed by a five minute introduction to a topic, followed by reading, and wrapped up with an activity that assesses the students about the topic that was covered in class that day. Another example would be fifteen minutes of journal writing, followed by grading of the previous nights homework, followed by a quick lesson covering a new topic, ending with student practice of new skill that was just taught. The point is, you create a pattern that students become accustomed to, and so they come to learn what to expect in your classroom.

For me personally, I like to create a lesson that presents the same information in multiple ways, so that even if students miss the concept the first time, and even the second time, they might get it the third time. Whenever I begin a new section or topic, I give them objectives that tells them what they can expect to learn that day. Then, I give them a brief introduction about the major concepts they can expect to hear that day. Then I like to have them read out loud, so that they get the books perspective of the topic. Often this is followed by notes, which has them writing the main points of what they just read. Then I like to end with an activity that asks the kids to basically restate what they just learned, either in journal form, or question and answer form, or by filling in a chart, or any other method that gets them to review the information. After having done all that, they have been exposed to every concept verbally, visually, audibly, and in such a way that their brain has to process the information to come up with answers to an assessment.

You might think that after all that, all students make straight “A’s” in my class, but sadly, for most students, even this is not enough. In fact, I usually have only 2-3 “A’s” per period at the end of a grading period.