What are recommended teaching strategies?

Answer 1

Thank you for asking. As a long-time student myself, I have lots of opinions on what I like in a teacher. (1) Be clear and organized. Tell me what you are going to cover, cover it, then summarize the highlights of what you just covered and how it inter-relates with the other topics you are covering. A lot of the time a new subject is a disorganized stream-of-consciousness from the teacher and the students are left trying to figure out what it was the teacher thought they were saying. A handout at the beginning of the year with what you will be covering each week is great. This holds true for younger students, too. E.g. when my daughter was in early elementary school, they did a math project where they had to count the kids in the class who had brown eyes vs. blue eyes vs. green eyes and develop a bar-chart with brown, blue, and green lines the length of which represented the number of students with eyes of said colour. Total waste of time, because the teacher never said what the *point* of the exercise was. My kid just thought it was a colouring exercise and was worried about which shade of colour to use to match people's eyes. Whole lesson wasted because the teacher wasn't clear on "what is this useful for." (2) I'm partial to practical examples myself. "Show me where this is useful." The best teachers I had were ones who had in their lives other careers than just teaching, and therefore could bring lots of real-world examples into class. (3) Handouts will full solutions to problems are good too---then you can work out the question yourself, compare it to the worked example and see *exactly* where you are going wrong. Can't have too many of these, in my opinion. Hence the popularity of the "Schaum's" series. (4) One thing I disliked intensely was group projects. At best, you only get to learn about the part of it that you were assigned whilst the rest remains a bit of a mystery. At worst, you are stuck with a bunch of bottom-feeding knuckle-draggers who pull your mark down through no fault of your own. Been through both: it is an inferior learning experience even at the best of times. (5) Actually use the textbook you picked out. Nothing is more frustrating than to shell out $150 for a text that never gets used.

Answer 2

Here are some good learning habits and tips that you can use in any class: * Make an effort - learning is much easier if you put some "muscle" into it and actually try! Even if you don't like the subject, you can challenge yourself to learn as much as you can. * Avoid distraction - it is much easier to learn and to study if you are not distracted. Leave the chats for between class, leave the music at low volume, and turn off the IM and texting while you work. * Set up a time for work - have a specific time each day for studying and doing homework. Work is easier if you have a schedule and get into a habit! * Learn how to take notes - studying is easier if the most important information is all in one spot. Write this information in your notebook (see other Learning Tips questions for specific help) and use it to help you study. * Reward yourself - the best way to learn good habits is to have a reward for doing it. Get your parents to help out, too. Put some money into a jar or savings account every time you succeed at a goal (studying every day, making a certain grade, getting through school without a demerit - whatever goals you think are important can work). Use the "prize money" to buy something that you can't afford right now!

Answer 3

Fit the lecture to the audience. Focus your topic - remember you cannot cover everything in one lecture. Prepare an outline that includes 5-9 major points you want to cover in one lecture. Organize your points for clarity. Select appropriate examples or illustrations. Present more than one side of an issue and be sensitive to other perspectives. Repeat points when necessary. Be aware of your audience - notice their feedback. Be enthusiastic - you don_Ü_t have to be an entertainer but you should be excited by your topic.

Answer 4

Here are some good study tips for anybody:

• Make a schedule and have a set time for studying - just treat it like a job and go to work
• Take good notes and use those to study instead of trying to reread the books
• Keep an assignment notebook where you write down everything that's due - this keeps everything organized so you don't forget something
• Also keep a calendar - this is a larger, more visual reminder that something is coming up, like an exam or report
• Use a Study Deck (see the link below) for learning terms, formulae, and other short facts
• Look ahead - use your calendar to watch for upcoming events so you don't get distracted by all the extracurricular activities around you, and plan time for your studies so you don't get behind
• Lose the distractions - when you do study, turn off the cellphone and loud music, switch off the internet and Video Games, and really concentrate on what you're doing