Some of you will find yourself in front of a class of students or colleagues who you have to teach or even provide complete training. Unfortunately, there are teachers who obediently deliver their lessons the way they always have. Break that routine and approach it in a different way, and more importantly, put yourself in the shoes of your student. Admittedly, teaching is not for everyone. For some, the idea of standing up to talk in front of a large group of people and then making sure that you are able to convey the knowledge is nerve-wracking. Knowledge is one thing, but communicating it well is another. It’s definitely an art!
In this article I would like to briefly and concisely indicate what you need to pay attention to in order to teach well. Obviously you can’t apply everything at once and it takes time to prepare certain items. In addition, not all tips and hints I provide are always practical or feasible. This will differ per teaching environment and situation.
The Ten Commandments of Teaching
Make sure you are standing above the material
So first make sure you have sufficient knowledge. There is nothing more annoying than standing in front of the class unprepared and having to walk on your toes. Not knowing something once is of course not a disaster. Don’t try to talk yourself out of it because you often talk yourself into a situation or you come across as insecure.
Take frequent breaks
You can’t keep your students engaged for long. Attention often decreases after 20 to 30 minutes. A short 5-minute break works wonders. Let your students stretch their legs and grab a cup of coffee. After about 2 to 2.5 hours of lessons you really need to take a longer break, at least fifteen minutes.
Make the lesson interactive
Merely presenting a lesson is ‘deadly’ for the student. Presenting is in fact one-sided communication. Ask questions regularly to make your lesson interactive. Attention then wanes less quickly.
Vary the shapes you work in
Give an assignment so that they can work on it themselves. You can also do this with theory that they have not yet had but that you can let them figure out. For example, let them research things on the internet or through their textbooks.
Not just Powerpoint!
Many lessons are created in Powerpoint and literally played as a slide presentation. It seems very static. Moreover, it is very difficult to grow a lesson with PowerPoint. The old familiar blackboard is still an excellent media form. You can grow the lesson beautifully. And with just a few swipes, you can customize your lesson in an instant.
Break the lesson into bite-sized chunks
Do not present your students with large texts in Powerpoint – if you still want to use this format. Reading large texts diverts attention to the reading and not to you. You are explaining something that is on the slide. No one hears you, they are all reading. Format the slides so that you only use key words and very small sentences if necessary. The explanation, the story surrounding it, then comes further away from you.
Visualize!
Try to visualize what you are explaining so that the theory becomes clearer.
Show pictures . People generally love pictures to make the lesson more lively. A nice film that adheres to the fabric can also have a lot of value.
Use your experience
Useful when you can use your experience, especially when you train new colleagues in your field and you have been working in it for some time. It also makes the lesson more lively.
Use some humor
Nothing is more fun than making a joke every now and then. The rest of the lesson is often bitterly serious, so a good joke that also ties in with the lesson makes the atmosphere very different. Or tell an anecdote along the way.
Summary and review questions
Provide a short summary regularly in class. This way you can nicely round off and close a topic. Ask regular questions so that you can find out whether your students have understood the material. Please note that even the less strong students should be able to keep up with the rest of the class. Therefore, please answer the question regularly. Also try to ask as many open questions as possible. Open questions are questions to which the answer is never yes or no. These questions always start with words such as: how many, which, who, what, where, how and why.