Effective Teaching Strategies

Effective Teaching Strategies

Professional training in our school takes place every Tuesday. As scheduled in the school professional development plan, the Academic Vice Principal was supposed to conduct a workshop on “The Effective Teaching Strategies”. The Professional Development Committee of the school held a meeting of on Sunday 26 – 10 – 2014, and decided to conduct a workshop that aims at cementing a number of effective teaching strategies. The Committee agreed to offer an opportunity for teachers to share their experience in implementing a variety of teaching strategies with their colleagues. Hence, Mr. Alsayed Abou-Alwafa, the Chemistry teacher, and Mr. Nizar El Euch, the English teacher, have been called to participate in accommodating the workshop of Tuesday 28-10-2014 with two effective teaching strategies in coordination with the Academic Vice Principal Mr. Reda Saad Elmahdy.

Mr Alsayed has chosen the Traffic Signals Strategy and Mr. Nizar The Graphic Organizer Strategy. The workshop was delivered in a professional and effective way that appealed to all the participants. The workshop helped the trainees to be involved in a lot of practical activities, fruitful discussions and interactions. Most of the participants have shown great willingness to implement the strategies they have practised in the workshop. This strongly reflects the teachers’ positive attitude towards their job and their readiness for change as well as succeeding in customizing the workshop in a way that suits the needs of all the teachers.

The Professional Development Committee held a post workshop meeting for evaluation and recommendations. The team has come up with a number of recommendations and decisions. First, all the subject coordinators are urged to carry out classroom visits to follow up the implementation of the two strategies as well as other strategies that ensure students’ active participation and promote learner autonomy. Besides, after considering that the workshop was notably successful, the Committe looks forward to conducting similar ones in the coming weeks.

If you are interested, you can download the presentation used in the workshop here.

ABC Teaching

Professional Development sessions started in our school (Ahmed Bin Hanbal Secondary School for Boys) today. I thought of starting by having a quick revision on the basics of the teaching process; starting from planning and ending up with evaluation.

I also thought of applying various teaching techniques and strategies in the workshop to help teachers see those strategies in practice. Some of the strategies I used are: KWL, Think, pair and share, Brainstorming, Group discussion, Elicitation, Group work and Concept Map.

The workshop was very successful as the trainees were interested and eager to participate in all activities.

I did my best to make sure that the presentation covers all the basics of the teaching process and I think this presentation can be very helpful to novice teachers as well as experienced ones.

To have a clear idea about the points discussed in the workshop, I recommend you download the presentation here.

10 Things Experienced Teachers Want New Teachers to Know

Surfing the net, I came across this article by CHRISTINE ERICKSON and I liked it very much. I thought it could be very useful to a lot of teachers, so I decided to post it here hoping our teachers would benefit from the pieces of advice recommended by experienced teachers.

IMAGE: SPACES IMAGES/GETTY CREATIVE

BY CHRISTINE ERICKSON 

The first day of school is nerve-wracking for students — but it’s even scarier for new teachers.When you’re facing a whole room full of bright-eyed students whose future is in your hands, it’s an empowering and totally terrifying feeling. Like any practice, it takes time and experience to learn your way around the classroom. But that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from a few words of wisdom from experienced colleagues.

SEE ALSO: 10 Memorable Teachers That Taught Beyond the Lesson Plan

A few seasoned teachers at Math for America provided tips that first-time educators should know. But even seasoned teachers could benefit from these pieces of advice.

• 1. Be yourself.

  

  Be a well organized, fiercely boundaried, teacher-shaped version of you, but be yourself. They can smell a faker a mile away.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR AITTYBITTYLIVINGSPACE

• 2. Keep a teacher journal and write down all the great things that happen in your classroom.

  

  Because some days you are going to feel like the worst teacher on the planet. Some days that kid is going to get to you and you’re going to fly off the handle. Some days you are going to want to walk out the door and not come back into your classroom. Ever.

  You are going to need to look at those moments that made you laugh, made you smile, made you so proud of them you felt like your heart was going to burst, and made you remember why you signed up to do this amazing, exhausting, fantastic job in the first place.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR COLLEGEESSAYGUY

• 3. Don’t yell.

  

  Seriously, don’t. Because that one time the whole year, where you actually need to yell to communicate emphasis, it needs to count.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR GIFRIFIC

• 4. Work it out.

  

  Lesson planning will drain your mental energy. Students will drain your emotional energy. You’ll have to channel your physical energy somewhere. Take up running on the weekends or cycling in the afternoons. Yoga also works well, but taking up boxing may be more efficient.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR WHENYOUWORKATAMUSEUM

• 5. Say their names.

  

  One strategy to learn all of your students’ names is to use their names often in the first few days of class. The more you use their names, the easier it will be to memorize them all. After class, you can use a seating chart and rehearse which students sit at which tables/desks so that you will associate a desk with a name and a face. Teaching becomes easier when students feel comfortable in your classroom. (Obviously don’t make them too comfortable.)

  IMAGE: WITTLEGIF

• 6. Sleep.

  

  Establish good sleep habits. There will always be something left undone at the end of a day. Make a list for the next day and let it go for the night. If you don’t sleep well, you will have the same amount of work the next day but it will be a lot more overwhelming.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR

• 7. Assemble a think tank.

  

  You will need people to bounce ideas off of and to engage in meaningful discussion about pedagogy and classroom management with like-minded people in your situation. It has a few effects: a. It lets you know you are not alone, b. others can see what you cannot, c. collaboration is stimulating and d. someone else might pay for coffee.

  IMAGE: GIFVAULT

• 8. Stick to routines.

  

  Nervous about the first day? That’s normal. First impressions are important, but what’s more valuable is how you reinforce your routines during the first few weeks (and months) of school. Choose routines that are short and easy to do. You’ll forget how to execute long routines when you are managing a room full of children.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR GOLLUMS-PRECIOUS-SMEAGO

• 9. Remember how hard it is to learn something new.

  

  Learning isn’t instant. Teach students that deep, meaningful learning takes time and effort. Tell them how long it took you to learn something like swimming, skiing, cooking, spear fishing, etc. Students often think that if they don’t learn something right away that they’re not “smart” enough.

  IMAGE: TUMBLR ALLSTARJUNIOR

• 10. Forget about yesterday.

  

  Some students may test your nerves today. Don’t hold grudges; tomorrow those same students may be amazing in class. Though they made you angry yesterday, show them your smiles today. Smiling makes us all happier anywhere — it’s scientifically proven.

  IMAGE: JOYREACTOR

Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom

Classroom Management in the Tech-Equipped Classroom.