13 Tips on How to Be a successful teacher
Teaching is fun and can be hectic sometimes. When you discover how to be a successful teacher in your professional career you will find fun in teaching. Teaching goes beyond just speaking to your students during lectures, it is a learning process that involves communication between you the teacher, and your students.
As a teacher, you can be very intelligent but if you lack teaching skills you may never find fun teaching rather you may get frustrated and quit your job. However, these skills can be developed and help you succeed, if you aim how to be a successful teacher.
The fact about being a good teacher is that you must go beyond classroom activities. Students look up to you as role models and expect the most from you. Therefore you must be creative, motivational, and friendly. You must be willing to learn new ideas and teaching skills to get the most out of your career as a teacher.
Tips on How to Be a Successful Teacher
We will take you through what you need to know on how to be a successful teacher
1. Know your students
As an effective instructor, you need to know your student. You will come across students from different backgrounds, with different challenges, and skill sets. You have to be psychological to study your student’s behavior and know when anyone needs extra attention.
How to be a successful teacher requires showing acts of kindness to your students, this gives them a sense of belongingness. Have a little chat with them when you notice they may be emotionally down.
Whenever a bright student slacks in his academic performance, it could be matters from the family or negative influence from friends. Knowing your students will help you communicate easily with them
2. Communicate with your students
Like the first one on our list, healthy communication with your student can give you knowledge about them. They will also be willing to come to you whenever they need someone to inspire them.
They will be free to unveil the challenges they face whether at home or in school. How to be a successful teacher is when you can communicate with your students and in turn they communicate with you.
It brings about a bond between the teacher and the students. It is healthy to communicate with your students.
3. Be Observant
Some students, may not pay attention during lectures and can be carried away by side distractions. You have to be observant to know when anyone is carried away and lost in the class.
Do well to call them back in a polite manner. A good observer will know when the class has become boring and try to cheer them up. You will know when to use the right skill when you observe.
4. Believe in your students
Believing in your students helps to unleash the stars in them, it may be difficult most times, but you look to see beyond the now.
Remember that your success as a teacher depends on whether your students succeed or not. If you must be a successful instructor, you must push them beyond the average limit, make them know they can do more, and at that, you will be by them.
If they fail in an attempt, cheer them up to try again, and let them try as many times as possible. Like in sports, coaches motivate their players to crawl out of their comfort zone. Most students believe so much in their teachers, especially when you give them maximum support.
5. Always listen
Learn to listen, when you listen you will be able to understand your student’s challenges and know how you can be of help. How to be a successful teacher involves paying keen attention to your students.
When you listen, you will know their mistakes, and learn from their contributions or questions during lectures. Suppose a student asks a question you are not familiar with, it is an opportunity for you to research.
You will get maximum cooperation from the students if you can listen to them.
6. Be well prepared
As an educator, you must give yourself adequate preparation. Before facing any class for lectures, make sure you prepare yourself for the class.
Do an extra study on the subject matter, because you may encounter something new as a result, and never assume you are familiar with the topic.
Some students read ahead of the class and may sometimes ask questions to test their strength or throw you off balance. If you are prepared you will handle the matter promptly.
7. Be confident
Just as you observe your student’s behavior, they also do the same. You must be confident in the face of your student especially when it is your first time meeting them.
If you don’t have that self-confidence it will be hard to win their attention, rather they will make a mockery of you. Act it, practice it occasionally when at home, and with time it will be part of you.
You can kill it by moving around, demonstrating with your hand and body if need be, write on the board occasionally. Students always want to know when their teacher is not confident. In doing this it will be easy for you to communicate with them at all times.
8. Take charge of your classroom
Own the class, make your students know you’re in charge of the classroom, and also make them feel important. Make the class well organized.
If their opinion is needed on any matter or subject they should put up their hands before talking or making any contribution. Let the student’s contribution count where necessary.
This also builds up self-esteem in the students and makes them organized and well-behaved, to know where and when to speak even outside the classroom.
9. Be playful and energetic
As a teacher, you should be playful, and add a little play during class to make the students happy. You shouldn’t always tighten your face like you want to put up a quarrel with someone, always put on a smile, as it makes you look younger.
Throw some jokes during lectures, these might bring them back when bored, you can start up funny and educating talks, in that way, they can relate with you easily. Display energy while teaching is one of the qualities on how to be a successful teacher.
10. Make your class interactive
Try as much as possible to always make your class interactive. How to be a successful teacher requires you to be creative, you have to think outside the box.
Bring up topics for discussion, divide the class into smaller groups, and have them deliberate on the subject while you moderate the class. Make it like a debate gets to hear their opinion on the topic, and let them ask questions.
While in other times you can ask questions in the middle of the lesson so it won’t look boring to them.
11. Make your class fun and lively
All work without play makes Jack a dull boy. Most times bring up games, educating and challenging games that will be fun for you and your students and also healthy for them.
You can also change the settings of the classroom to make the students delightful. In doing this, you will win the students’ hearts and make them always willing to learn new things, they will always love to be in your class.
12. Criticize constructively
In line with making the class interactive when opinions are brought forward that are not in line with the discussion. Politely, make them understand why it is not so.
Make them see reasons why it is not so, and also correct them so they don’t get discouraged in airing personal views. Words are powerful, they can kill or make, use them wisely while you criticize your students’ opinions.
13. Always appreciate
Appreciate your student’s effort no matter how little. Appreciation is a motivation to do more, if you want to be an effective teacher, no matter what you do or the result they come out with, always appreciate them and make them feel loved.
Even if their work is not properly done or not neat enough, first appreciate the effort they put in, before criticizing their errors. Students love it when you appreciate their effort it makes them feel they have done well.
It also motivates them to do better and are willing to give all, just to make you happy, because they know you believe in them.
Summary
How to be a successful teacher requires diligent effort. You can study more on how to be an effective teacher to understand other basic criteria you must imbibe. You just need to add a little more effort to get the best of your career as a teacher.
Remember you are a role model to your students and every action you take before them counts. Don’t quit the drill, take the test and be the best of yourself as a professional teacher.
