Teach English in Nanxiang Zhen - Shanghai Shi

Learning Teaching SkillsWhat are the skills that make up a memorable, remarkable teacher? A great teacher has knowledge and expertise in his subject. If one was to be a successful teacher in college, he must be well-versed and know his material very well. A great teacher has the ability to pass on his knowledge and expertise to his students. "Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." The teacher builds on the students' knowledge of the subject in a clear and easy to relate to manner. He will make the class interesting and meaningful, and will work hard to make it relevant to his students. He has a genuine concern for the students within his classroom, and will respect them. A great teacher will employ the senses - seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting - one, two, or more of these senses are his focus in the student's learning process. The student will get involved in assignments given by the teacher and will use any one or more of his senses to complete it as the teacher instructs. The teacher should use methods that appeal to the student. Studies show that listening accounts for only 13 percent of learning when used on its own. It has been estimated that 75 percent of learning is obtained by seeing, and that when the student sees and hears new material, he will retain only around half the knowledge that he takes in. Doing, however, often requires more than just one of the senses and gives the individual full participation in the educational process and learning experience. When students fully participate in saying and doing, they are estimated to retain about 90 percent of the material, thus making it by far the best method of learning for most students. The teacher should present opportunities for the students to practice that which they have learned, and showcase their abilities. For instance, they may prepare a demonstration for their younger classmates on a certain topic. A great teacher will concentrate on getting everyone's attention to the topic at hand. It is in the teacher's best interests to motivate his students and show them the importance of knowing and applying the subject matter. The way he imparts that motivation to each individual student should of course cater to the student's personal interests, and should spark a desire to learn the material. The teacher must clearly and concisely present the objective and the key ideas to the students, so as to give them a clear perspective of the key learning points that they will unitedly cover. In doing so the teacher should generally avoid long stories, jokes, or off-the-cuff anecdotes. A great teacher will organize the teaching material in such a way as to concisely show the relationships of the key learning points. The teacher can do so by arranging the main points in any of the following ways: from past to present, simple to complex, known to unknown, and most frequently used to least frequently used. The teacher should teach according to the students' preferred learning method. Visual learners will learn easily by seeing or reading. Auditory learners will more easily learn by listening, and lastly, tactile, or psychomotor learners, will learn proficiently by doing. A great teacher will combine the students' preferred learning style with different learning domains. For instance, the cognitive domain of learning deals with intellectual abilities, the psychomotor domain mainly has to do with physical and/or motor skills, and the affective domain deals with expression of feeling about attitudes, interests, and values. Much of learning involves all three domains. The teacher should relate and compare material to the student's lifestyle and recognize incompatibilities. The more meaning a student sees in his study material, the quicker and easier he will learn it. Give students opportunities to apply their newly acquired knowledge to reinforce their learning and increase their confidence. They will learn how to apply their knowledge and handle real life situations, which will sharpen their problem solving skills, and provides an opportunity for the teacher to give feedback and emotional support. Lastly, a great teacher will praise his students for their achievements. When students are aware of their progress, learning will come easier for them. Positive feedback may motivate them to increase their efforts because their goals will seem more attainable. Praising the student for his achievements is also known to improve the student's retention of the material. The reassurance that they have really learned the content or technique can help them retain and refine their abilities.