Inside my English classroom...
“Teaching is bloody hard work!”
This statement could be heard daily by the small group of pre-service teachers on my most recent placement experience. Each morning we would go through our in depth lesson plans, express our excitement over the activities we had chosen, and wish each other luck for the lesson ahead. Whilst some would come back having had a dream lesson, others plans had fell flat- leaving a disheartening feeling behind. ‘What went wrong?’ we thought to ourselves. Then a beacon of hope - mentor teachers’ notes! Upon reflection over my teaching feedback I realised common themes in lessons that did not go as well as planned, which got me thinking. What makes a lesson truly effective? As a teacher, I place emphasis on student centered learning., and these 5 key points all contribute to my focus.
3. Learning styles
English classes are great as they allow you to engage with content via many different learning styles. By incorporating a range of different activities which address various learning styles, you are involving every type of learner in your class in some way. By listening to audio content as research, and then drawing a visual mind-map on the board with your students, you are already appealing to two types of learners in one activity.
4. Student involvement
We all know how boring sitting at your desk taking notes can be, so get your students involved! Utilise group work, partner activities, writing on the whiteboard, mind-mapping on butchers paper- anything! By getting learners to move around and engage with other mediums and people, they become exposed to a whole range of ideas they may have not considered before. It also is a great tactic when energy levels are low!