The teaching profession is a very responsible and dutiful job to perform. Providing students with quality education, and teaching them the right life traits to ensure their academic, social and professional success is very important for every teacher. To provide students with effective teaching, teachers need to possess and practice some skills. Let us discuss these skills for effective teaching in detail one by one.
Effective teaching: skills for teachers to practice
- Time management
To complete the everyday teaching tasks and responsibilities, time management skills are very important for teachers. Proper planning and preparation well in advance, making students accountable, using technology to complete the tasks quickly, and creating a to-do list are a few tips that teachers can follow for effective time management and teaching.
- Technical skills
In today’s advanced and digital world, having a basic technical understanding is crucial for all. With the growth and evolution in educational technology and online teaching modes, having technical skills is important for teachers. This helps teachers to access different audiovisual tools and provide students with a proper academic understanding. Also with technical skills, teaching opportunities such as online modes are available.
- Communication skills
In today’s time, communication skills are the need of the hour for all. The same goes for the teachers too. To provide students with a proper understanding of the academic subjects, teachers need to be good at communication. Also with effective communication skills, teachers make students more interactive and participative in the classes too. With good verbal, nonverbal, and listening communication skills, teachers can form strong interpersonal relations with the learners too.
- Behavioral skills
For effective teaching, understanding different student behavior is very important. When teachers are over strict, scold frequently, or do not understand students’ emotions, and child psychology, teaching becomes less effective. For quality teaching and ensuring academic, social, and professional growth of students, having the right behavioral skills, affection, care, and empathy towards students are very important. To expect the right behavioral traits from the students, the teachers need to possess the right ones too.
Some effective teaching ideas
- Ensure discipline in your class
For effective teaching, ensuring discipline in the classroom is very important. Lack of discipline can lead to wrong learning and behavioral traits that affect the classroom environment and teaching quality. To overcome this issue, teachers must make sure to set a code of conduct for their classes.
Set rules such as mutual respect, giving a timely response, no physical abuse, no vocal abuse, timely homework submission, etc. With a set of rules and regulations, students will act in the expected ways. This helps in quality teaching and learning.
- Interact with all students
In a classroom, along with active speakers, some students are reluctant, shy, and reserved. They stay quiet and interact very less. Fear of speaking, lack of confidence, bonding, etc can be a few reasons behind this. To overcome this issue, teachers must try to interact with every student. During teaching sessions, ask whether they are understanding or not, give them personal attention, and have interesting interactive activities.
- Use audiovisual tools to teach
Many times understanding the theoretical and applicative portions of the textbooks becomes difficult for the students. Also listening to the teachers reading out the textbook material is not very engaging for students too. To avoid this happening with your class, using audiovisual tools is very beneficial.
By using an online teaching app, teachers can access several technical tools like educational videos, modules, demonstrations, picture cards, PowerPoint presentations, visual notes, and more. With the help of visualization, students tend to understand the concepts better and quicker. Also, their interest and engagement in the classes are enhanced.
- Work for positivity
Today stress, anxiety, negative thoughts, unhealthy comparisons, taking feedback wrongly, self-doubting, etc has become quite common. This leads to negativity and obstructs proper growth and development for the students. To overcome this problem and teach effectively, teachers must try to create a positive learning environment for students. Ask them to trust their abilities, and take suggestions and feedback constructively. Treat students with affection, care, and respect. Use success quotes for students, to encourage, motivate and make them feel good about themselves.
Conclusion
Every teacher aims to provide quality education, and sure students’ academic success and growth in their teaching profession. To do so, possessing and practicing the right teaching skills are important. By following the above-mentioned skills which are time management, communication, technical understanding, and behavioral skills, teachers can teach effectively. We also discussed a few ideas for effective and valuable teaching.