Time line of my teaching practice

I have one and a half years of teaching experience during which time I have gained some insight on teaching strategies and methodologies. The context of my teaching has changed over the period of my practice and some of the areas that I would like to discuss are: Teaching methodology, Teacher-student relationship, focusing on different learning styles and Clarity of instructions.

I knew from the beginning that teaching is not just about lecturing, giving handouts to students and having class discussions. It’s a fact that one should possess rich content knowledge as it’s an indispensable criterion to teach effectively. However transmitting ones understanding to a group of youngsters who have a mind of their own is quite a challenging task. I have realized that its imperative for me to be more accepting and open minded. Besides one should be widely read to successfully impart knowledge to students. I have often experienced satisfaction at the end of the lesson to see students actively participating in the discussions and class activities. This has inspired me to experiment with new methods in the class room like teaching children through role play, debates group discussions, case analysis and the like. Teaching and learning happens simultaneously and both become effectual when the lesson is accurately planned keeping in mind the flexibility that has to be incorporated while teaching to suit the student’s needs.

The teacher-student relationship is another area where I have tried to bring significant change in my approach towards them. Teaching becomes more meaningful and easier after the teacher and student reach a certain level of rapport. Since the students were already used to my predecessors teaching method and had developed a fondness for her it was again a challenge for me to win their approval. Since I had to prepare them for the final exam that was soon approaching, the only thing I thought of doing was to make the lessons interesting. This way they not only got involved in class but they started opening up. Of course their have been days of vehement in acceptance of my point of view and on few occasions my attempt to make the class interesting has been a failure. Though I had been cast down at times, I decided to remain focused. Gradually with time a better understanding developed between us. Since then it’s been a joyful ride with them. Therefore a healthy teacher-student relationship is one of the blueprints for successful teaching. Here again I know that I need to break the mould to suit the attitude and mind set of diverse groups of students.

Focusing on different learning styles is something I was completely unaware of. It took me some time to comprehend why some students responded better to certain mediums of teaching than others. Fortunately during the induction programme I was introduced to the concept of different learning styles and this knowledge later helped me to cater to the needs of different groups of students. I still have a long way to go and am not competent enough to structure all my lessons in accordance with the “different learning styles”. However I do give it a lot of priority now while planning my lessons.

Clarity of instructions is of paramount importance. It helps the students to work efficiently and independently. Initially I was under the impression that students are capable enough to understand the level and quality of work expected from them. Therefore I usually gave them basic instructions. This definitely prevented them from performing up to their potential and they were often perplexed about the work set for them. What was conspicuous was that they asked me questions that made me elaborate my previously given instructions to them. This has certainly made me mindful of the instructions I give now.

Today I am more confident, contented and passionate about teaching. I have picked up a few good skills. I hope to keep up my spirit and energy and inculcate appropriate qualities to be a successful and satisfied teacher.