When I was in my early grad school career back in the 80s, I was told that I had been awarded a graduate assistantship and would begin teaching when the fall semester began. I’d taken a practicum — which was largely a waste of time — but had no coursework in pedagogy. The Friday before the Monday on which the semester began, I was given a copy of the textbook, told where and when my classes met, and sent off to teach.
What I learned about teaching and learning, I learned from experience (that should delight the constructivist crowd). I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I managed to learn from them. Still, I don’t think the best way to become a teacher is to be tossed into a classroom with very little prep, though it happens all the time (that won’t delight the constructivist crowd).
So based on my experiences as a teacher, here are my tips for new (and perhaps not so new) teachers. This is long, so click the more tag below to read the rest.
Never forget that you don’t teach in a vacuum. Your class isn’t just your class. How well they learn what you’re supposed to teach them will affect how well they learn in other classes down the road — just as classes they had before yours affect how well they learn in your class.
Teach accordingly.
Be skeptical of everything you heard in ed school. It should be obvious, but teaching hand-holding feel-good “let’s all sit in a circle and share!” seminars in that ed school and teaching students actual content are two very different things. Just because your professors offer courses doesn’t mean they know anything about teaching — particularly if their idea of education is turning students into little goose-stepping Maoists. If you’re smart, you figured out in ed school that 95% of what you read and were told was horse manure.
Go find a good, experienced teacher, and ask him for advice. Note that I said good and experienced; not all experienced teachers are good teachers. Who has a reputation for being a good teacher? Whose students get good scores and seem to come out of class having learned a great deal? That’s the person you want to talk to. Ask him if he has any advice for you as a fledgling teacher, and pay attention to what he says, even if it contradicts what Professor Moonbeam told you in ed school. If he’s amenable, use him as a resource and mentor. I really wish I had had somebody like that in the 80s.
Grade as objectively as possible. Despite their popularity, wholly subjective grading criteria such as “participation” are a bad idea. They introduce a subjective and potentially unfair variable into the way you treat your students. Having said that, there are good arguments for giving a participation grade, but if you do, it should be only a very small portion of the grade.
Performance-based grading is the fairest to your students. As much of your grade as possible should be based on objective, measurable criteria.
Of course, some subjects lend themselves less well to objective criteria than others — composition is one excellent example. But there are methods for applying subjective criteria fairly to all students: Rubrics and anchors, for example. So even if you teach a subject whose evaluation is inherently subjective, you can with some extra work evaluate your students fairly.
Assess your students’ performance frequently. Don’t fall into the “It’s just a ten-point quiz” trap. All assessments are important. Assess your students’ performance frequently, with quizzes and exams, and get results back to them as quickly as possible. It’s only fair that your students know how they are doing, after all. And the more you assess your students, the more opportunities they have to improve their performance.
Critique yourself — harshly. Every time you assess your students, you give yourself an opportunity to assess your own performance. It’s unrealistic to expect all of your students to do well, but if the curve on that last exam you gave is low, assume something you’re doing is not working. “Lisa’s just not a good test-taker” may to some extent be true, but for you, it’s nothing more than an excuse. Take responsibility for your job — getting your students to learn the material. If what you’re doing isn’t working, then stop doing it — even if you are ideologically wedded to doing it (hint: education isn’t about you or your ideology).
Classes gel as entities. It’s bizarre, but different classes develop different class “personalities,” and some classes perform better than others — even if you are doing the same thing in all the classes. Some classes are quiet. Some classes are participatory. Some classes are downright rowdy. Some classes have normal curves. Some classes have high curves. Some classes have low curves.
When assessing your own performance, take this into account. If, say, you’re teaching four classes and you’re doing the same thing in all four, and if your students’ scores are good in three of them but not so good in the fourth, you have evidence that what you’re doing is working.
Stick to your topic. This shouldn’t need to be said, but these days, it isn’t said enough. The school isn’t about you, or your ideology, or your idea of “social justice,” or “diversity,” or “conscienceness-raising.” The school is about learning, as in the topic you’re supposed to be teaching. If you’re throwing out gratuitous political comments, you’re wasting time and not doing your job. If you’re trying to think of ways to weave your agenda into your topic, not only are you being a narcissistic jerk, but you know what you’re doing is wrong — otherwise, you wouldn’t be trying to sneak it in.
If you teach math, stick to math. It’s that simple. There’s too little time to get through the material as it is without wasting valuable time just to make you feel better about yourself.
Treat your students with respect.
Students are people, and people respond in kind to the way you treat them. If you treat your students with respect, they will be more likely to treat you and their peers with respect. If you treat them like children, they will behave like children.
This is the way you earn your students’ respect.
Be an authority figure — and set an example. Like it or not, you are an authority figure. With authority comes responsibility, the responsibility to set an example for your students. Hold yourself to the highest ethics and morals, or find another job.
I had a colleague who would come to work drunk, and go to her classes and tell her students about her latest one-night stand. I suppose she mistakenly thought her students would find her “cool” and relevant.” The reality is that students thought she was a drunken whore and an idiot, and viewed her with disdain. When a sorority sponsored a “Most Hated Faculty Member” poll, she won, and couldn’t figure out why. She gave out As like candy. She talked about her sex life every day. Why would the students dislike her?
How clueless is that?
You are your students’ teacher. You are not their friend, or their therapist. Students look to you for guidance, not hugs or gold stars.
That doesn’t mean be a pompous jerk, nor does it mean don’t be friendly with your students. It does mean that you’re not their peer, and they know it. You need to know it as well.
Also — and this really needs to be said — be careful what you say, and where. If you blog, either do so anonymously, or walk on eggshells when you blog. Don’t put up nude pictures of yourself on MySpace (do I really need to say that?) or talk in the halls about evil homosexuals.
It’s not a matter of PCness, or not offending anyone. It’s a matter of decorum and professionalism. Do not curse in front of students. Do not tell rude jokes in front of students. Act like a professional, not a student.
My students have no idea what my politics are. I never bring politics into the classroom, and never discuss politics with current students. Never. I suggest you adopt the same policy. And here’s another suggestion: Teaching your students by example to steal from others is not ethical behavior, nor is it setting a good example.
Your students are paramount. If you place your salary or your television show above your students, you have no business teaching. As long as you represesnt the school in a classroom, your students are your top priority.
Good luck. We need as many good teachers as we can get.
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