Educational Psychology
Teaching being my passion, I have always found it an interesting and stimulating exercise to my mind. I have searched for different methods and approaches for improving the quality of my teaching to learn the secrets of becoming the best teacher. In the process of learning effective teaching techniques, I have consulted, collaborated and co-taught with my colleagues, When I entered the teaching profession and began taking classes, my first challenge was class room control. Students were not attentive and I could not their rapt attention to my teaching.
I consulted my senior to find out how I could get the undivided attention of the students while I was teaching the lesson. He gave me some very useful suggestions which I immediately applied. Following his advice, I began asking questions and made my classes interactive rather than a monologue. I found the students more attentive this time and it gave me instant results and a great feeling of success. The questions that I posed and the compliments I paid for their answers gave me not only the best results but also a sense of satisfaction and meaning to what I was doing.
In fact, as Weiner says in the following statement, a word of praise for the efforts of the students makes him more motivated. Receiving a reward or feedback for an action usually increases the likelihood that the action will be repeated. Weiner (1990) points out that behavioral theories tended to focus on extrinsic motivation (i. e. , rewards) while cognitive theories deal with intrinsic motivation (i. e. , goals) Consulting the senior staff members has often resulted in getting qualitatively better answers from the students.
Preparing the lesson plan to keeping the time limit in mind requires experience and intelligence and awareness of the dynamics of class room teaching. What I learnt from my seniors has been helpful in planning my classes perfectly. The mistake I had done earlier was I never kept the duration of the class in my mind when I prepared the teaching plans. My main objective had been getting the complete attention of the students and keeping the class lively. But after consultation with the senior teaching staff, time limit within which I should complete a teaching task has also become one of the main objectives of my lesson planning.
When I found it hard to prepare the lesson plans particularly for some chapters I sought the help of my immediate senior in the department. He spent his valuable time generously and we together prepared the lesson plans. The problem that hindered my progress was providing the apt examples for the points I was discussing. The ideas and suggestions given by senior helped in discovering new and fresh examples which made my task easier. A course with a large proportion of its teaching taking place in lectures will need to have a high level of intrinsic interest to students to keep them engaged.
(Tudor W. Jones). This statement summarizes well the essence of my learning of teaching methods and techniques. The one single quality that differentiated my teaching and that of my seniors was they were able to keep the high interest levels of the students throughout the course. What surprised and in fact attracted me most in them is they did it so naturally and with so much of ease Seeing my interest in the profession, another senior faculty member in the department offered me a unique chance of sharing some parts of the course occasionally to his students.
He sat in the class as an observer while I was teaching and when I finished a task he continued the class. This has helped me really to know some advanced points in teaching. It is the resourcefulness of the teacher that makes his really a good teacher. It helps in rising up to the expectations of the students and meeting the same. Continuous research and observation along with the undying habit of referencing make one a real teacher. I found the senior faculty members who got nearly twenty years of experience still prepare to the classes as if they were they were teaching their first class.
Their commitment and determination and their urge to learn further to reach the students better is exemplary. It has left a strong impression on mind. I realized what distinguishes a good teacher from an ordinary one. It is the qualities and character of the teacher that reflect in his teaching. They are intrinsic and they inspired me most. References Tudor W. Jones, Methods of Teaching and Learning http://www. tla. ed. ac. uk/resources/course-org/Chapter8. pdf Weiner (1990), Motivation, History of motivational research in education.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 616-622. http://tip. psychology. org/motivate. html Each student is required to show growth in their personal professional plan by using elements of consultation, collaboration, and co-teaching with their school context. Included in this professional plan should be Specific goals, role responsibilities, and activities that you engage in to foster consultative collaboration and inclusion. Remember – BE SPECIFIC! Show how you have grown professionally as a TEACHER. PLEASE disregard substitute.
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