Effective
Teaching Strategies: Six Keys to Classroom Excellence
What
are makes an effective teacher?
This
particular list of teaching characteristics appears in an excellent book that
is all but unknown in the states, Learning
to Teach in Higher Education, by noted scholar Paul
Ramsden. In the case of what makes teaching effective, he writes, “…a great
deal is known about the characteristics of effective university teaching. It is
undoubtedly a complicated matter; there is no indication of one ‘best way,’ but
our understanding of its essential nature is both broad and deep.” (p. 88-89).
He organizes that essential knowledge into these six principles, unique for the
way he relates them to students’ experiences.
1:
Interest and explanation – “When
our interest is aroused in something, whether it is an academic subject or a
hobby, we enjoy working hard at it. We come to feel that we can in some way own
it and use it to make sense of the world around us.” (p. 98). Coupled with the
need to establish the relevance of content, instructors need to craft
explanations that enable students to understand the material. This involves
knowing what students understand and then forging connections between what is
known and what is new.
2:
Concern and respect for students and student learning – Ramsden
starts with the negative about which he is assertive and unequivocal. “Truly
awful teaching in higher education is most often revealed by a sheer lack of
interest in and compassion for students and student learning. It repeatedly
displays the classic symptom of making a subject seem more demanding than it
actually is. Some people may get pleasure from this kind of masquerade. They
are teaching very badly if they do. Good teaching is nothing to do with making
things hard. It is nothing to do with frightening students. It is everything to
do with benevolence and humility; it always tries to help students feel that a
subject can be mastered; it encourages them to try things out for themselves
and succeed at something quickly.” (p. 98)
3:
Appropriate assessment and feedback – This
principle involves using a variety of assessment techniques and allowing
students to demonstrate their mastery of the material in different ways. It
avoids those assessment methods that encourage students to memorize and
regurgitate. It recognizes the power of feedback to motivate more effort to
learn.
For
more teaching strategies, download Effective
Strategies for Improving
College
4:
Clear goals and intellectual challenge – Effective
teachers set high standards for students. They also articulate clear goals.
Students should know up front what they will learn and what they will be
expected to do with what they know.
5: Independence
6:
Learning from students – “Effective
teaching refuses to take its effect on students for granted. It sees the
relation between teaching and learning as problematic, uncertain and relative.
Good teaching is open to change: it involves constantly trying to find out what
the effects of instruction are on learning, and modifying the instruction in
the light of the evidence collected.” (p. 102)
Reference:
Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning
to Teach in Higher Education. New York
Six Tips for Teaching Lower Level
Junior High School
Dorit Sasson
doritelv(at)hotmail.com
Emek Hahula
Comprehensive High
School (Kibbutz Kfar
Blum , Israel
doritelv(at)hotmail.com
Introduction
When I first started teaching weaker learners, I was looking for a
way that would help me motivate reluctant readers, who were mainly borderline
students and constantly exposed to failure. I didn't have any plan; I just knew
there were immediate gaps in their knowledge that needed to be closed.
I looked for ways to motivate my ninth grade students beyond the framework of the text. Many textbooks often have more texts than are needed or texts that may not be suitable in one way or another. In addition, the teacher feels that it is necessary to use additional readings as supplements.
Many of my students became passive when faced with a reading text. I gave them simplified exercises, easier language input, a choice of graded exercises, but this didn't help me with the obstacle of motivating them to read when given a simple text. These students need different techniques or need to be motivated differently. So obviously, the choice of text should not be random. As an ESL teacher, it is important to choose a text that best answers the needs of my students.
Many of these readers have poor reading strategies, others varying degrees of failure, some were too scared to even look at a text. Any teaching strategy has implications to some theory of reading and learning that I have experimented with in the ESL classroom. My approach is based on these understandings:
I looked for ways to motivate my ninth grade students beyond the framework of the text. Many textbooks often have more texts than are needed or texts that may not be suitable in one way or another. In addition, the teacher feels that it is necessary to use additional readings as supplements.
Many of my students became passive when faced with a reading text. I gave them simplified exercises, easier language input, a choice of graded exercises, but this didn't help me with the obstacle of motivating them to read when given a simple text. These students need different techniques or need to be motivated differently. So obviously, the choice of text should not be random. As an ESL teacher, it is important to choose a text that best answers the needs of my students.
Many of these readers have poor reading strategies, others varying degrees of failure, some were too scared to even look at a text. Any teaching strategy has implications to some theory of reading and learning that I have experimented with in the ESL classroom. My approach is based on these understandings:
Tip 1. Teach Topics that
are Motivating
Purposely I have chosen the first two important interrelated
features that Richard Day points out in “Selecting a Passage for the EFL
Reading Class,” which have implications for facilitating second-language
acquisition – interest and topic. On a cursory glance, I saw the topics in
their reading books were culturally and socially removed from their world. Part
of getting students interested in reading is to expand the students' knowledge
on topics they like. After taking a brief survey, I realized their favorite
topic was music. So, when students were presented with a new short text I had
written on Oriental and Middle Eastern Music singers, they were more motivated
to read. The students also had enough background knowledge on at least one of
the themes.
Now that you have wisely chosen a reading passage, how will you exploit the text? What is your reading plan? This brings me to the second tip.
Now that you have wisely chosen a reading passage, how will you exploit the text? What is your reading plan? This brings me to the second tip.
Tip 2. Reluctant Students
Need a Step by Step Lesson in Order to Digest Larger Chunks of Text
Start small using bits of text such as word clues, titles and
subtitles. Important vocabulary used in a pre-reading activity would serve the
purpose of a lead-in to the topic. Keep the number of unknown vocabulary items
for each text small allowing a teacher to focus on the goals of the reading
course, which is digesting the text or, understanding its deeper meanings. Make
sure there are enough warm up and pre-reading activities. Encourage predictions
where ever possible. Keep reading passages short and attractive.
Richard Day points out that appearance of the reading passage (layout, print and type size) affects readability. Keep the lines short. This will enhance reading speed. Having a short text is affects its readability and is infinitely better than one long text. Reluctant readers have had many experiences of frustration and failure. Length is a big factor. Paragraphs in each text should be clearly defined. Make sure the font is clear and attractive.
Richard Day points out that appearance of the reading passage (layout, print and type size) affects readability. Keep the lines short. This will enhance reading speed. Having a short text is affects its readability and is infinitely better than one long text. Reluctant readers have had many experiences of frustration and failure. Length is a big factor. Paragraphs in each text should be clearly defined. Make sure the font is clear and attractive.
Tip 3. Be Selective and
Choosy When Deciding What Text to Use with Your Students
Next time look at the texts from the perspective of your students.
Do your reading objectives match the objectives of the unit? Not all texts are exploitable
due to their thematic, lexical, syntactic and structural appropriateness. Here
are some examples.
·
Lexical exploitability - Do the texts offer an opportunity to acquire some new
vocabulary?
·
Structural exploitability - Can students explore text meanings through the structure and
text conventions?
·
Thematic exploitability - Does the text have potential for understanding moral issues for
example through discussion?
·
Syntactic constructions - Syntactic constructions in a passage affect its readability. If
the texts have new structures that have not yet been covered in class, it might
be wise to pre-teach the structure or, choose a text with fewer new grammatical
structures.
If a text is exploited well, it will match up with the objectives
of the unit and allow the teacher to accomplish the objectives of the reading
lesson.
Tip 5. Identifying Phonic
and Phonemic Skills are Necessary for a Successful Remedial Reading Program -
Automaticity is the Goal
In many of my weaker classes, reluctant learners are also remedial
learners who have experienced many failures in reading and tasted very little
success.
As part of my reading program design, I take 'inventory' and give mini diagnostic tests at the beginning of the school year.I design questions based on only letter and word level that gives me aclear indication of their decoding abilities.I target those sound blends, vowel sounds, and letter sounds that appear throughout the text that I have chosen and preteach them. Phonemic awareness activities constitute a big part of the lessons for those lower level students who have yet to master basic reading skills. They constantly need help and guidance in recognizing new words. I make sure there are ample opportunities to practice the words with new phonemes and to see them again and again.
Word and letter recognition is the key. “Word recognition is primary and needed for the later work of comprehension” (Purcell-Gates) When I feel students can decode the words, only then do I introduce them in short passages. This builds up their confidence and gives them a reason to continue reading.
According to LaBerge and Samuels, “comprehension is made possible when readers no longer have to expend all of their cognitive attention on the recognition of letters and words….The faster one becomes an automatic decoder – recognizes words without having to break them down and 'figure them out' - - the sooner one can attend to comprehending text.”
In light of this, I present the students with a story I have written which includes many words with the targeted cluster as possible in of course, a logical context. The students answer questions about the text, and hopefully, they will be able to decode the appropriate phones and extract the correct meaning in its embedded context. Hopefully, by the end of the unit, the students will have achieved phonemic awareness of this specific phoneme.
As part of my reading program design, I take 'inventory' and give mini diagnostic tests at the beginning of the school year.I design questions based on only letter and word level that gives me aclear indication of their decoding abilities.I target those sound blends, vowel sounds, and letter sounds that appear throughout the text that I have chosen and preteach them. Phonemic awareness activities constitute a big part of the lessons for those lower level students who have yet to master basic reading skills. They constantly need help and guidance in recognizing new words. I make sure there are ample opportunities to practice the words with new phonemes and to see them again and again.
Word and letter recognition is the key. “Word recognition is primary and needed for the later work of comprehension” (Purcell-Gates) When I feel students can decode the words, only then do I introduce them in short passages. This builds up their confidence and gives them a reason to continue reading.
According to LaBerge and Samuels, “comprehension is made possible when readers no longer have to expend all of their cognitive attention on the recognition of letters and words….The faster one becomes an automatic decoder – recognizes words without having to break them down and 'figure them out' - - the sooner one can attend to comprehending text.”
In light of this, I present the students with a story I have written which includes many words with the targeted cluster as possible in of course, a logical context. The students answer questions about the text, and hopefully, they will be able to decode the appropriate phones and extract the correct meaning in its embedded context. Hopefully, by the end of the unit, the students will have achieved phonemic awareness of this specific phoneme.
Tip 6. Put the Emphasis on
Authentic and Meaningful Language Communication in Reading
Students remember the targeted words chunks of language when it is
taught in a meaningful way. More often than not, this involves doing something
with the language beyond simply digesting it.
Theoretical Underpinnings:
Theoretical Underpinnings:
·
Reading strategies cannot be taught in isolation
·
Reading
·
Comprehension involves the construction of individual meanings.
·
Learners need to acquire a certain threshold in order to process
language deeper.
·
Meaningful communication is the goal.
·
Learners need language input from all four modes: listening,
speaking, reading and writing recycled and in a variety of methods.
“This teaching first involves students in purposeful (to the
student) reading and writing, then pulls out some skills –ranging from decoding
to text structure and comprehension – for focused work.” (Pursell-Gates)
Final Words
It is easy (and natural) for a new teacher starting out to put
heavy stress of skills grammar, vocabulary development, punctuation,
word-attack drills only to realize that s/he hadn't closed the gap at the end
of the school year. In most cases, textbooks were one step above their
abilities and students entered Junior High with a shallow basic understanding
of reading. (technical reading) The success of a reading program (can) and
should start when the teacher has an adequate picture of the students' reading
abilities.
Students, for the most part, are exposed to a variety of teaching and learning strategies. There is much flexibility in terms of curriculum; students are assessed by their reading progress on various tasks and performance tasks. The focus is on meaningful communication and not simple technical 'shallow' reading or minimal understanding. The program is based to give them tools for learning independence thus making them less teacher dependent.
Students, for the most part, are exposed to a variety of teaching and learning strategies. There is much flexibility in terms of curriculum; students are assessed by their reading progress on various tasks and performance tasks. The focus is on meaningful communication and not simple technical 'shallow' reading or minimal understanding. The program is based to give them tools for learning independence thus making them less teacher dependent.
Works Cited
·
Day, Richard R. “Selecting a Passage for the EFL Reading Class”
ERIC Digests, 1994.
·
LaBerge, D & Samuels, S.J. (1974). “Towards a theory of
automatic information processing in reading.” Cognitive Psychology, 6, 293-323.
·
Purcell-Gates , Victoria
For
additional advice, check out the Top 10 Tips for Successful Classroom Discipline.
Difficulty: Average
Time Required: Varies
Here's How:
1.
Begin each class period with a positive attitude and high expectations. If you expect
your students to misbehave or you approach them negatively, you will get
misbehavior. This is an often overlooked aspect of classroom management.
2.
Come to class prepared with lessons for the day. In fact,
overplan with your lessons. Make sure to have all your materials
and methods ready to go.Reducing downtime will help maintain discipline in your
classroom.
3.
Work on making transitions between parts of lessons smooth. In
other words, as you move from whole group discussion to independent work, try
to minimize the disruption to the class. Have your papers ready to go or your
assignment already written on the board. Many disruptions occur during
transitional times during lessons.
4.
Watch your students as they come into class. Look for signs of
possible problems before class even begins. For example, if you notice a heated
discussion or problem before class starts, try to deal with the problem then.
Allow the students a few moments to talk with you or with each other before you
start your lesson to try and work things out. Separate them if necessary and
try to gain agreement that during your class period at least they will drop
whatever issue they have.
5.
Have a posted discipline plan that you follow consistently for
effective classroom management. Depending on the severity of the offense, this
should allow students a warning or two before punishment begins. Your plan
should be easy to follow and also should cause a minimum of disruption in your
class. For example, your discipline plan might be - First Offense: Verbal
Warning, Second Offense: Detention with teacher, Third Offense: Referral.
6.
Meet disruptions that arise in your class with in kind measures.
In other words, don't elevate disruptions above their current level. Your
discipline plan should provide for this, however, sometimes your own personal
issues can get in the way. For example, if two students are talking in the back
of the room and your first step in the plan is to give your students a verbal
warning, don't stop your instruction to begin yelling at the students. Instead,
have a set policy that simply saying a student's name is enough of a clue for
them to get back on task. Another technique is to ask one of them a question.
7.
Try to use humor to diffuse situations before things
get out of hand. Note: Know your students. The following example would be used
with students you know would not elevate the situation to another level. For
example, if you tell your students to open their books to page 51 and three
students are busy talking, do not immediately yell at them. Instead, smile, say
their names, and ask them kindly if they could please wait until later to
finish their conversation because you would really like to hear how it ends and
you have to get this class finished. This will probably get a few laughs but
also get your point across.
8.
If a student becomes verbally confrontational with you, remain
calm and remove them from the situation as quickly as possible. Do not get into
yelling matches with your students. There will always be a winner and a loser
which sets up a power struggle that could continue throughout the year.
Further, do not bring the rest of the class into the situation by involving
them in the discipline or the writing of the referral. More on dealing with confrontational students in your classroom.
9.
If a student becomes physical, remember the safety of the other
students is paramount. Remain as calm as possible; your demeanor can sometimes
diffuse the situation. You should have a plan for dealing with violence that
you discussed with students early in the year. You should use the call button
for assistance. You could also have a student designated to get help from
another teacher. Send the other students from the room if it appears they could
get hurt. If the fight is between two students, follow your school's rules
concerning teacher involvement as many want teachers to stay out of fights
until help arrives.
10.
Keep an anecdotal record of major issues that arise in your
class. This might be necessary if you are asked for a history of classroom
disruptions or other documentation.
11.
Let it go at the end of the day. Classroom management and
disruption issues should be left in class so that you can have some down time
to recharge before coming back to another day of teaching.
Tips:
1.
Recognize the warning signs of disruption. Obviously this comes
with practice of classroom management. However, some signs are fairly obvious.
2.
Sarcasm should be used sparingly if at all. If you do use it,
make sure you know the student who you are using it with well. Many students do
not have the capacity to know that sarcasm is not meant to be taken literally.
Further, other students could find your sarcasm as inflammatory which would
defeat your purpose of greater classroom management.
3.
Consistency and fairness are
essential for effective classroom management. If you ignore disruptions one day
and come down hard on them the next, you will not be seen as consistent. You
will lose respect and disruptions will probably increase. Further, if you are
not fair in your punishments, making sure to treat all students fairly then
students will quickly realize this and lose respect for you. You should also
start each day fresh, not holding disruptions against students and instead
expecting them to behave.
4.
It's easier to get easier. Start the year very strict so that
students see that you are willing to do what it takes to have your classroom
under control. They will understand that you expect learning to occur in your
room. You can always let up as the year goes on.
5.
Classroom rules must be easy to understand and
manageable. Make sure that you don't have such a large number of rules that
your students can't consistently follow them.
