Teachers and their teaching methods
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Prof. K M Wazed Kabir
We all teach and learn throughout our lives. Some of the most important and distinguished humans in history have been teachers. In this write-up let us discuss about professional teachers. The teacher's job is quite different from those of other professionals. Teachers derive pleasure from training young minds. When the students come to them, their minds are only half formed. Job of teachers is not only to fill the young minds with facts but also to help students understand facts. Many scholars, distinguished for their erudition and reputation, are shockingly bad teachers for their lack of the knowledge of 'The Art of Teaching'. In the succeeding paragraphs my humble purpose is to discuss some of the sterling and steely qualities of a successful teacher. Teaching has three parts. First, teachers prepare the subjects. Then, they communicate it to their pupils, and finally, they review the lessons to be certain that they have learnt what they taught. Teachers know exactly what work they will have to finish by the end of the week, but they are usually not careful to know how that part of their work will relate to the remainder of the work to be done. Many teachers discover two or three weeks before the examination that they have spent too much time on the first part of a subject, and, as a result, have to rush to finish the last part. Teachers of literature are especially fond of remaining too long on the part of the subject they love which is more a virtue than a vice because this is a subtle psychological means to establish sympathy and understanding with students. But the next day or the next week they must reestablish proportion. While telling the students what they are going to learn, teachers should at the same time show the relation of each part to the whole. It is generally observed that if teachers wish to be interesting, they are likely to be superficial. Again, if they try to be thorough, they may prove to be boring. But good teachers can escape the dangers of both methods, if they are aware of both. It is every good teacher's duty to know all the important arguments and discoveries that affect the subject. They should take notes on important and interesting facts and these notes should be kept and added to the lectures at the proper time. Sometimes it will be enough for them to mention a new book and discuss it briefly. Teachers may also decide to keep the information in reserve as an additional support to an argument of a variation of their usual discussion. By making changes like these, teachers will keep their teaching interesting and effective and their minds quick and active. One of the consolations of advanced years is that while the body becomes weak, the mind grows stronger. Teachers who neglect making changes assume that the mind stops growing with the body. The process of adult learning as far as is known does not involve increase in the size of the brain, but it does mean that the paths and connection within it become clearer and more complex. There are three principal methods of communicating knowledge from teacher to pupil: the lecture, the tutorial system and class room work. Teachers need to know the original sources of the subject. If the teacher teaches history it will not suffice to know what the book says about 'The Atlantic Charter' but they must know the words of 'The Charter'. After a teacher has prepared his subject, he or she has to communicate the knowledge to the pupils. If they fail to communicate, they will fail as teachers. They may be an inspiration for a few pupils because of their erudite scholarship and captivating personality, but they may fail to teach the majority of their students. Knowing the art of communication, a less brilliant student can be an excellent teacher. Communication, being one of the principal activities of human race, is a skill, an art and an essential function of human civilization. Memory is as essential for a teacher as it is true for other professionals. A creative memory is one of the qualities that distinguishes the superior lawyer, doctor or teacher from the ordinary ones. If a question is asked and discussed, let the teacher remember and mention it again later in connection with some other facts. The students generally fail to bring different facts into proper relation with one another. Teachers with a good creative memory can help their students to relate bits of knowledge, no matter how widely separated they are. When teachers succeed in doing it, they will see the understanding reflected on students' faces. A sine qua non for an effective teacher is kindness. Students should feel that teachers want to help them improve, that they are sorry for their mistakes and pleased by their successes. Few things will reduce the difficulty of learning like the kindness of a teacher. But their faces should wear seriousness. Manner should be impersonal at the time of treating them with kindness. Gestures, if carefully used, are often valuable in making important points clear. No one likes to listen to a lecture given without any variety. Pauses should be made as sentences should be punctuated to make it clear that a unit of thought is finished. Silence, sometimes, is more effective than a speech. The tone of voice should change during the lecture as no one would be interested in talking to a man who never changes the speed of his words and shows no change in his eyes and expressions. One of the bewitchingly effective qualities of a good teacher is the sense of humour. But it should never be used to control a class. The covert purpose of humour is to create a close relationship between the teacher and the students. When a class and its teacher laugh together, they cease to be separated by age and authority. They become a unit, feeling pleasure and enjoying a shared experience. Young students try desperately to grow and become individuals. If teachers expect to prove their efficacy as a teacher, they must give them the nestling impression that they know them as individuals. The first step towards this is recognising their faces and memorising their names. One of the worst mistakes made by some teachers is to boast of their inability to recognise pupils. Such teachers want to mean that if they burden their memory with the distinction between Ms. Romana and Ms. Sabana, they will forget Shakespeare's, "'There are more things between heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy." Successful teachers try to make learning the joint enterprise of a group of friendly human beings who are interested in using their brains. The writer is Professor and Chairman of Department of English, Government City College, Jessore
We all teach and learn throughout our lives. Some of the most important and distinguished humans in history have been teachers. In this write-up let us discuss about professional teachers. The teacher's job is quite different from those of other professionals. Teachers derive pleasure from training young minds. When the students come to them, their minds are only half formed. Job of teachers is not only to fill the young minds with facts but also to help students understand facts. Many scholars, distinguished for their erudition and reputation, are shockingly bad teachers for their lack of the knowledge of 'The Art of Teaching'. In the succeeding paragraphs my humble purpose is to discuss some of the sterling and steely qualities of a successful teacher. Teaching has three parts. First, teachers prepare the subjects. Then, they communicate it to their pupils, and finally, they review the lessons to be certain that they have learnt what they taught. Teachers know exactly what work they will have to finish by the end of the week, but they are usually not careful to know how that part of their work will relate to the remainder of the work to be done. Many teachers discover two or three weeks before the examination that they have spent too much time on the first part of a subject, and, as a result, have to rush to finish the last part. Teachers of literature are especially fond of remaining too long on the part of the subject they love which is more a virtue than a vice because this is a subtle psychological means to establish sympathy and understanding with students. But the next day or the next week they must reestablish proportion. While telling the students what they are going to learn, teachers should at the same time show the relation of each part to the whole. It is generally observed that if teachers wish to be interesting, they are likely to be superficial. Again, if they try to be thorough, they may prove to be boring. But good teachers can escape the dangers of both methods, if they are aware of both. It is every good teacher's duty to know all the important arguments and discoveries that affect the subject. They should take notes on important and interesting facts and these notes should be kept and added to the lectures at the proper time. Sometimes it will be enough for them to mention a new book and discuss it briefly. Teachers may also decide to keep the information in reserve as an additional support to an argument of a variation of their usual discussion. By making changes like these, teachers will keep their teaching interesting and effective and their minds quick and active. One of the consolations of advanced years is that while the body becomes weak, the mind grows stronger. Teachers who neglect making changes assume that the mind stops growing with the body. The process of adult learning as far as is known does not involve increase in the size of the brain, but it does mean that the paths and connection within it become clearer and more complex. There are three principal methods of communicating knowledge from teacher to pupil: the lecture, the tutorial system and class room work. Teachers need to know the original sources of the subject. If the teacher teaches history it will not suffice to know what the book says about 'The Atlantic Charter' but they must know the words of 'The Charter'. After a teacher has prepared his subject, he or she has to communicate the knowledge to the pupils. If they fail to communicate, they will fail as teachers. They may be an inspiration for a few pupils because of their erudite scholarship and captivating personality, but they may fail to teach the majority of their students. Knowing the art of communication, a less brilliant student can be an excellent teacher. Communication, being one of the principal activities of human race, is a skill, an art and an essential function of human civilization. Memory is as essential for a teacher as it is true for other professionals. A creative memory is one of the qualities that distinguishes the superior lawyer, doctor or teacher from the ordinary ones. If a question is asked and discussed, let the teacher remember and mention it again later in connection with some other facts. The students generally fail to bring different facts into proper relation with one another. Teachers with a good creative memory can help their students to relate bits of knowledge, no matter how widely separated they are. When teachers succeed in doing it, they will see the understanding reflected on students' faces. A sine qua non for an effective teacher is kindness. Students should feel that teachers want to help them improve, that they are sorry for their mistakes and pleased by their successes. Few things will reduce the difficulty of learning like the kindness of a teacher. But their faces should wear seriousness. Manner should be impersonal at the time of treating them with kindness. Gestures, if carefully used, are often valuable in making important points clear. No one likes to listen to a lecture given without any variety. Pauses should be made as sentences should be punctuated to make it clear that a unit of thought is finished. Silence, sometimes, is more effective than a speech. The tone of voice should change during the lecture as no one would be interested in talking to a man who never changes the speed of his words and shows no change in his eyes and expressions. One of the bewitchingly effective qualities of a good teacher is the sense of humour. But it should never be used to control a class. The covert purpose of humour is to create a close relationship between the teacher and the students. When a class and its teacher laugh together, they cease to be separated by age and authority. They become a unit, feeling pleasure and enjoying a shared experience. Young students try desperately to grow and become individuals. If teachers expect to prove their efficacy as a teacher, they must give them the nestling impression that they know them as individuals. The first step towards this is recognising their faces and memorising their names. One of the worst mistakes made by some teachers is to boast of their inability to recognise pupils. Such teachers want to mean that if they burden their memory with the distinction between Ms. Romana and Ms. Sabana, they will forget Shakespeare's, "'There are more things between heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy." Successful teachers try to make learning the joint enterprise of a group of friendly human beings who are interested in using their brains. The writer is Professor and Chairman of Department of English, Government City College, Jessore