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By Organisation Development Division |
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1) Consider the following questions
when preparing to deliver a new topic to your
students:
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What excites me about the topic? What aspects
of the topic do I relate to on a personal
level?
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What are three to four key
ideas I am passionate about that I would like
my students to take away from this lesson?
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How do I want my students to
feel about the subject after the lesson?
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2) Ask yourself these
additional questions when you need to deliver
the same lesson in future:
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What insights did I gain from students in
the previous class that I can incorporate
into the next lesson?
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What aspects of current national or global
events can I incorporate into the lesson to
provoke my students’ thinking? |
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Teaching is undoubtedly an activity that requires the giving
of the self more than anything else. It is therefore not surprising
that most teachers feel strongly about taking good care of themselves
so that they can continue to have a sustained source of physical
and emotional energy essential for good teaching. But before
you rush off to take up spa treatments, plan for the next overseas
vacation or sign up for more training courses, we would like
to offer an alternative view about nurturing good teaching skills.
Good teaching is not necessarily a function of what you do outwardly
to improve yourself but how disciplined you are in looking inward.
You need to allow your inner self and identity to surface and
be a legitimate part of what and how you teach. By doing this,
you are injecting into your teaching a sense of authenticity
that will help to connect you to your students and your students
to the subject. Also, by injecting the self (i.e. what makes
you, you!), you will not be constrained by the syllabus because
you will have your personal experiences, stories and values
to draw on as additional resources to enhance the teaching and
learning experience. These can be your greatest assets!
(Click here to read more.)
You may be a Science teacher who is also
a trained First Aider. In your free time, you
volunteer your services at a Community Club
and have encountered numerous occasions where
your expertise had been put to good use to benefit
the public. Your involvement in this area is
largely fuelled by the fact that you believe
strongly in the importance of being personally
prepared for emergencies and to be able to contribute
directly to the society in very real ways.
Your students would probably appreciate the
elements and effects of, for example, fires,
and how some chemicals have properties that
could help to subdue fires, a lot better from
you than from a textbook. You would have not
only given them knowledge that is applicable
to the real world but have also invited them
to know more about you – your values, beliefs
and the revelation that you have an exciting
life outside of school! You would be surprised
at how this sense of inclusion or connectedness
between you and your students, if maintained,
is able to create engaged learning in subsequent
lessons. |
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A useful tip to remember is that students (though they may not
realise this) are looking for something in the lesson that is
conveys more than what they can easily read about on their own.
They need teachers to be ‘weavers of meaning’ rather than ‘providers
of cold content’. Some people think students are starving for
meaningful learning in the education process. What is your take
on this view?
| Share your reflections on this article,
or stories of how you have applied some of the ideas from
other articles in our series, with us at moe_osrb_lo@moe.gov.sg. |
Parker
J. Palmer. The Heart of a Teacher: Identity and Integrity in
Teaching.
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