16 ways on How to be a successful teacher
Do you have a passion for teaching and want to develop your teaching skills? Or do you want to earn a living in teaching and need to know how to be a successful teacher? Whatever your reason for finding this blog, you will learn credible tips on how to be a successful teacher and improve your professional skills.
Teaching is one interesting career anyone can embark on as long as you’ve got the knowledge, but developing teaching skills is what most teachers neglect to do. As a teacher, you must continue to develop yourself with constant learning so you don’t get stocked and outdated.
Effective teaching involves both personal and developed skills. You may say of yourself “I don’t have personal skill for teaching” or you may have stage-freight whenever you stand before people, not to worry, that isn’t a limitation at all. As long as you are willing to practice these simple tips, you will get the most as a successful teacher.
Tips on how to be a successful teacher
One of the formal tips on how to be a successful teacher is to be open to learning. Every good teacher is a good learner. Learning is the bedrock of your success as an instructor, you must learn how to be creative, motivational, and friendly if you are not. The following are things you must know for your personal development.
1. Good preparation is mandatory
Effective teaching requires a proper preparation. Prepare yourself for every class with the students, and read almost every piece of information you can find about the topic you are to teach.
Good preparation builds confidence in a person, therefore you have to be prepared to stand before your students. If it is a topic you are already familiar with, don’t neglect to read, it because you may get a better understanding or find something new.
2. Detail your lesson plan
How to be a successful teacher without a proper lesson plan is like a traveler without a guide. A well-detailed lesson plan is a perfect guide for you.
Take time in arranging your teaching strategy, different definitions, diagrams you will use (if required), questions to ask your students, take-home assignments, and so on.
Follow the lesson plan accordingly, sometimes you may be tempted to deviate from your lesson plan when the class gets more interesting, do well to guide yourself wittingly to achieve the required result.
3. Be confident
Always possess confidence in front of your students. If you have stage fright, you can practice how to overcome it. Someone once said if you stand before a crowd and you are not confident enough to speak, don’t look into the people’s eyes rather place your eyes above their heads you will regain your stand.
How to be a successful teacher requires teaching with confidence. Practice being confident, after making each lesson plan, have someone maybe a friend or relative sit as your student while you practice teaching.
You can have them correct you while you do it over again. With more practice, you will attain perfection.
4. Practice good teaching methods
You can try different teaching methods for your students and see which one works best. Utilize various teaching methods like having a discussion class, an experimental class, going on field trips, and so on.
Sometimes you can plan a discussion class where they are asked to go read on a particular topic ahead of the class and then everyone shares his opinion while you coordinate with the right answer.
Check out their response and see how responsive they are to each style, whichever one works best, stick to it with other varieties.
5. Discover who your students are
Having knowledge of whom your students are is very vital in making the most out of your career. The measure of your success as an effective instructor will be determined by the impact you made on your students.
Certainly, you will have fellows from different backgrounds and orientations, and getting to know them individually will not be a waste of effort, Memorizing their names and calling each student by his/her name. Psychologically, every individual appreciates being recognized especially by a superior.
If you can give your students the privilege of being recognized, by spending a good time with them you may win their loyalty and make them open to learning.
6. Interact with students
Good interaction with students will give you hints on what to concentrate on while making a lesson plan. You can equally learn something new by interacting with them.
Getting to know their weaknesses and strength is a great tool to help them improve academically. By interacting with your students, you can identify those who are more intelligent and those who are less.
As I good teacher, your goal must be to carry everyone along, both the weak and the strong. Try to discover the challenges the weak students and how to help them, you can speak to their parents to assist in their improvement. So do well to engage your students in a healthy conversation.
7. Be patient
There are times the going may get tough, probably you may have put in sufficient effort but no positive result to show. You have to be patient at this point, just learn patience this is one major virtue you will need to achieve your goal.
Nothing good comes easy, sometimes teaching students who are not willing to learn can frustrating at times, but don’t walk out of it. Stay put and be patient find a way to get around an answer, and be persistent time it goes green.
8. Give listening ears
Do not neglect any child’s opinion during classes or after, give them your attention and be a source of inspiration to your students. Being a successful class teacher doesn’t end on the chalkboard, you need to listen to your students, especially when they have some personal issues to share with you.
You may also want to read: 11 Tips on the Secrets of Teaching for Weak Students to Learn Fast
9. Always observe
An effective instructor closely observes the mood and feelings of his students during classes. It may be that the entire class is bored with a particular topic or subject matter, at this point you will want to do nothing else but get their attention by cheering them up.
Teachers who are not observant will carry on with the class not minding the students’ feelings and at the end of the day they will achieve nothing.
You can crack up a joke or tell an interesting story halfway, and once you get their attention you can keep the class in suspense to complete your story after the lectures. Practicing this tip on how to be a successful teacher will make you win your goal with time.
10. Be-in-charge
How to be a successful teacher during lecture time, you have to be in charge of the entire class activities, whatever the class turns into is at your remark. Stay positive in managing class activities. See to the mental welfare of each student and that no one misbehaves.
11. Welcome criticism
You can have your students tell you where you haven’t been getting it right with them or ask a colleague to watch you while you teach the students.
Allow them to criticize your methods, learn from your errors and strategize. How to be a successful teacher requires external criticism to help you discover faults you can’t see.
12. Learn from a great teacher
If you are opportune to sit under a great teacher you admire, you can watch his composure and how they relate with students, the teaching pattern, and all that. Don’t be afraid to ask questions where you need help.
13. Be kind and appreciative
Appreciate your students’ effort, whenever they get things done well because you never can tell how far the impact will go.
In one of Ben’s books “Think Big”, he narrated his story of how a science teacher’s appreciation of an answer he gave changed his entire perception about his personality and esteemed him highly among his classmates and the entire school.
Appreciate even the smallest effort without discrimination or bias.
14. Believe in your students
How to be a successful teacher requires fate in your students. You have to believe in your students, speak positive words to them, and make them believe in themselves.
See beyond their errors and weaknesses and encourage them to do better than they have done. Slowly but surely these build
confidence in them.
15. Practice constructive criticism
There are times when you will have to criticize students’ efforts, using constructive criticism will not deter their confidence at all. It is just like finding a positive way of saying something bad. Be strict and at the same time lenient with them.
16. Take a short break
Game time after class isn’t a bad idea or maybe movies will interest you better. Whichever, having a good time to exercise with your students can help you build a good bond with them. You can practice this once in a long while of there about.
Bottom line
A good practice they say makes perfect. How to be a successful teacher isn’t a day job, you have to strive a keep striving for good. Simple conscious practices of these tips will be of great help in achieving your goals as a great teacher someday.
