Teach your sessions

Now it's beyond planning; you have to present your lessons, using the resources and any equipment you developed in preparation.

Follow the learning sequence as you planned and pace yourself so that students can learn most effectively. If your teaching plans are good, they will keep you on track. Note that the criteria that applied to the planning lessons also apply to presentation.

Tips:

  1. Before each session, check your planning to confirm what you need to do, and check resources are available.
     
  2. Get people enthusiastic about learning. As an instructor, you value learning and are aware of its benefits. Everybody you work with needs to keep learning and part of your role is to encourage it new and ongoing participation in learning. Give students and colleagues support (and advice when appropriate).
    When you teach, you will need to point out the importance of what it is you teach. In that way, you can explore the benefits of learning with students and colleagues, and communicate them to foster continued learning.
     
  3. Being flexible is good. You'll probably need to modify your approach because every group is different. Some groups are quiet. Some are restless. Some are quick to learn, and others struggle. Some adjustments are necessary to maintain effective relationships. You'll also face situations that you didn't anticipate, such as students with physical, social or emotional difficulties, or organizational problems such as sudden changes of venue or equipment.
    Sometimes you will instinctively adjust to a new context. For example, you might adjust your verbal and written language to suit the language and literacy abilities of your students. But you will learn other things only with experience and you will need these skills for the Certificate IV.
    If you're new to teaching, too much flexibility will blow your lesson off track and you might lose so much time that it affects subsequent lessons too. But it's not hard to notice students who need extra support or information and provide it.
     
  4. Introduce and explain your activities. Give clear instructions and be open to others' opinions.
     
  5. Encourage and reinforce the development of generic skills. These include skills in how to learn, how to take initiative and be innovative, and how to work in a team, how to communicate ideas and information, how to collect and organize information, how to plan and organize activities, etc.
     
  6. Use the diversity of their backgrounds as a resource. Your lessons will be more interesting and students will learn better. Adult learners have considerable experience, and they need to be able to relate it to what they learn.
     
  7. Make sure each student has the opportunity to participate when you lead discussions. Address quiet students by name when you ask them questions. They might have a good contribution and be quite willing to give it, but need be addressed specifically to overcome their fears. Ask questions to generate further discussion. If you have done well stimulating discussion with leading questions, the students will respond spontaneously to each other on the topic with only occasional guiding questions from you to steer the discussion into all topics that need to be covered.
     
  8. Use appropriate language to reflect the audience. Often that means speaking plain English and only using jargon when you need to. Use the terminology and language of the industry or workplace. If you face cultural or linguistic differences, you may need to consider adjusting your language and concepts.
     
  9. Encourage students to evaluate their progress. They may need to develop intentional strategies, such as journals or log books in which they might reflect on their learning.
     
  10. Give students feedback on how well they are doing. This may be formal progress reports, but you should also give informal verbal feedback. Acknowledge success—a little bit of encouragement goes a long way. Feedback can also include informal group or individual discussions.
     
  11. Give individual student support. As you observe how your students are progressing, you might find that some need individualized help, such as:
  12. As you teach, review your lessons. How will you improve them for the next time you teach this course? Even experienced teachers improve their notes each time, and some use their notes as a basis to write a textbook.
     
  13. Recognize achievement and promote rewards. This is especially so if your organization has awards or other kinds of recognition for achievement in learning.

 

Home

 

Give practice opportunities

Students must also have opportunities to practice the skill that is to be assessed. Build opportunities for practice into the delivery. Even in more conceptual subjects, you need to give practice; discussion can give students experience in using particular ideas.

It is unfair to assess a skill when the student does it for the first time in a formal assessment. It might be unfair even the student has had some practice but knows they will not pass an assessment.

At the practice stage, inform students of the expected standard so that they can prepare for assessment.

Give practice opportunities that suit what they are learning, the context, and, the specific goals of the session.

If you're teaching as well as assessing, you should discuss with students the process, rationale and benefits of practice. Depending on their progress, you might need to give reinforcement through further training or practice. Monitor students' progress and discuss with them whether they are ready to be assessed.

If your students need to build confidence and feel successful, this is a good place to start, then build on it in formative assessment./p>

 

Home

 

Relationships with students

When you start with a new group of students, it is your job to establish an initial relationship with them. This is partly attitude and partly what you do. You will find that some approaches work better than others so be flexible.

  1. Build some rapport. Be friendly and polite. Draw people into the group and make them feel valued. Students should feel that you are available and willing to help them if they need it. You don't have to become your student's friend and it's not expected. (New teachers make the mistake of trying to be popular rather than trying to teach well.)
    2.  
  2. You can also develop rapport between students. The way to do it is to start with introductions in the first session and later let them work in groups and talk to each other. Let relationships grow naturally.
    3.  
  3. Your presentation should be engaging and relevant. That comes from being enthusiastic about your topic, using a variety of media, and doing good planning.
    4.  
  4. What you believe about students influences what they believe about themselves.
    If you think they can't, then they probably can't. If you think they can, they have a better chance of being able to do it. My cartoon, Sarah)
    5.  
  5. Your interactions with students should use adult learning principles and fit their learning styles.
    6.  
  6. You will establish trust if you are consistent and fair, have a positive attitude, and do a good job of teaching. Being honest (as opposed to evasive), tactfully of course, will help them know where they stand. Your self-management will also help establish your credibility, so show up on time and be well-prepared and well organized.
    7.  
  7. Your speech and body language should reflect that you are serious about what you are doing and really want them to learn. Stand straight, speak clearly and loudly without mumbling, and look your students in the eye. Use the right tone of voice and gestures that illustrate or support what you say, not nervous jerks that distract or confuse people. Dress neatly, especially in an office situation.
    8.  
  8. Do you welcome questions? Be open to opinions and ideas and let students have their say. Ask questions and let them give the answers that you don't expect. Follow up their ideas rather than push only your own. If students are unclear in what they say, ask them to try explaining it again in different words.
    9.  
  9. Be alert to sensitivities in culture and gender and to your own body language. Do you reflect appropriate interest or could it be interpreted in ways you do not like?
    10.  
  10. Besides communicating clearly and effectively, you will need to be a good listener and show empathy. If students are frustrated in some way, they might drop subtle hints as a way of asking for help, although some might be rude and blunt. If you are empathetic, you will understand their needs better and be more able to offer the right kind of assistance. Adults will know when you pick up what is going on and appreciate it.
    11.  
  11. Be a critical listener. This doesn't mean that you criticize students. It means that you help develop their thinking by ensuring you understand them well and pointing out weak and strong points in their thinking.

 

Home

 

Watch your ethics

It is easy to give too much attention to students whom you like (such as the friendly, talkative ones, or the naturally attractive ones). It is similarly easy to give inadequate attention to quiet, shy, rude, or unattractive students. A mark of your professionalism is your ability to treat all students equitably, giving help where it is most needed.

You shouldn't be alone in a closed room with a person of the opposite gender.

Keep your discussion on what it is that students are supposed to be learning.

 

Home

 

Observe your class closely

Observing behavior and interpreting it isn't always easy. If you're new to teaching, you won't always realize what is going on at first.

How is the group interacting? Are there conflicts or behavioral problems? Is there behaviour that puts other at risk of any kind?

Monitor student progress to ensure they achieve outcomes and that their individual needs are being met.

Watch for students' clues that they are having problems. Some will look bored or start to miss classes, or ask questions that indicate they misunderstood important parts of the course. Formative assessments will let you know how well they are doing and when they are ready for assessment.

 

Home

 

Managing difficult behavior

Adult classes seldom have behavior problems. The students have chosen to study and are generally highly motivated. Even so, students might have these problems:

Problem

Suggested solutions

Student "shows off" by trying to sound better informed than other students

Appreciate their strong points but don't accept misinformation.
Cut them off firmly but gently when it becomes unfair on others

Student dominates discussion to the exclusion of others

Allow dominators to have a fair say
Ask quiet students questions, and draw out their ideas with more questions.
Cut off dominators firmly but gently when they become unfair to others.

Student is overly opinionated or defensive of their own viewpoints

Ask other students for their opinions and the reasons for them.
Point out the strengths of other students' views.
You may also need to present balanced viewpoints yourself.

Student aggressively tries to strike an unreasonably favorable deal on assessment requirements

Don't give in. Just explain the existing requirements. Don't let it get into an argument.

 

Captive audiences are very different, especially if students are angry at being forced to take the course. Their behavior problems will more likely be:

Is there a magic solution? The Certificate IV requires that you manage inappropriate behavior by using conflict resolution and negotiation skills:

 

However, in the end ...

Ultimately, however, it is your class and you are in control. Other students have rights too. You need to keep the option of expelling a continually disruptive student from the classroom. In fact, you are legally required to if it affects health and safety. Three strikes and you're out is a good idea.

 

Luke, Amanda, Simon and Kate

Home