Attention, Class!!! 16 Ways to be a Smarter Teacher

by Chuck Salter

Good teaching is universal. Whether the topic is art, social studies, or physics, the same principles — and many of the same techniques — apply.

• It's not about you; it's about them. The best instructors see themselves as guides. They share what they know, and they understand that they are not the focus. Their students are.
• Study your students. It's not enough to know your material. You need to know the people you are teaching — their talents, prior experience, and needs.
• Students take risks when teachers create a safe environment. Students have to acknowledge what they don't know, take risks, and rethink what they thought they knew.
• The difference between a good teacher and a great one isn't expertise. It comes down to passion. Great teachers exude passion as well as purpose — passion for the material, passion for teaching.
• Students learn when teachers show them how much they need to learn. Students must become aware of the gap between where they are and where they need to be.
• Keep information presented clear — even if you can't keep it simple. One of the chief attributes of a great teacher is the ability to break down complex ideas and make them understandable.
• Practice vulnerability without sacrificing credibility. Sometimes the best answer a teacher can give students is, "I don't know." Acknowledging what you don't know shows that you're still learning; that the teacher is, in fact, still a student.
• Teach from the heart. The best teaching isn't formulaic; it's personal. Different people teach Shakespeare in different ways because of who they are and how they see the world and what they feel about it.
• Repeat important points. The challenge is to be consistent without becoming predictable or boring. The best teachers keep content fresh by finding new ways to express the same points.
• Good teachers ask good questions. Effective teachers understand that learning is about exploring the unknown and that such exploration begins with questions. These are not questions that are simply ectures in disguise. They are not yes-or-no questions that don't spark lively discussion, but questions that open a door to deeper understanding, such as, "How does that work?" and "What does that mean?"
• You're not passing out information. You're teaching people how to think. The last thing you want to do is stand up and tell people what to do, or give them the answers you want to hear. The best instructors are less interested in the answers than in the thinking behind them.
• Stop talking — and start listening. When it comes to teaching, what you do is nearly as important as what you say. One way to show that you care about students and that you're interested in them is by listening. Effective learning is a two-way street: It's a dialogue, not a monologue.
• Learn what to listen for. Listen to how students assemble information, how they organize their thoughts, and the feelings behind their words.
• Let your students teach each other. You're not the only one your students learn from. They also learn on their own and from their peers.
• Avoid using the same approach for everyone. Good teachers believe that every student can learn, and they understand that students learn differently. Some are visual and others are auditory, tactual, or kinesthetic. Some grasp the abstract; others do better with the concrete.
• Never stop teaching. Effective teaching is about the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the student. It doesn't end when the class or the work day is over.

Reprinted from the December 2001 issue of Fast Company Magazine. All rights reserved. Click here for more information or to subscribe (insert link to http://www.fastcompany.com).