If you have dreamt of always becoming K-12 teachers then this is a handy guide for you. Your students will all have different learning styles, be it learning by doing or learning by theory. As a teacher, you must get to know how each individual child behaves. Students will get excited and look forward to coming to your lessons if you show understanding and compassion towards them.
Unfortunately, during Covid, there were a lot of lockdowns and students had to adapt very quickly as they worked from home. Lessons took place via online platforms such as zoom and teams. Classes in 2020 and 2021 have had a lot to deal with.
Take a look below to understand how you can encourage your learners:
Change Your Teaching Style
You may have one particular teaching style that you like to stick to as you feel it works best. However, there may be certain pupils who don’t respond to this method. You might have to change it up a bit and bring in other ways to better help them understand the work.
Four main teaching styles are commonly used. These include kinesthetic which is learning through doing, visual which is learning by watching and seeing, auditory which includes listening to the teacher and taking information in that way, and tactile which is a hand-on approach where learners understand what is happening through the use of touch.
To get the whole class involved you could have different tables with varying teaching and learning styles. For example, you could have a table on what happens when you mix two colours or even three colours. The practical learners could get their hands dirty and mix the colours using their hands. This will also help the visual learners to understand. You could also use this as a way to get them to practice their handwriting. They can mix the colours then write a sentence stating what colour occurs when two colours mix. White boards are a perfect way to utilize colours to stimulate visual learners.
Alter The Work
If you have varying levels of learners in your class which is more than likely to happen, you will have to make sure everyone is capable of doing the work. If there are groups of children who struggle don’t leave them hanging. Encourage them to try their best, go over the information again to help them understand, and have different work tasks for different levels.
If you have three different worksheets that your learners can go through this gives them the independence to choose their level. Usually, you can print off or make levels 1, 2, and 3. If you can get the level 1 learners up to level 2 or even 3 this will give them an incredible sense of pride. Children love being proud of themselves and impressing their teachers. So make sure you give huge praise when they complete their work.
Get Them Involved
Getting children involved in the lesson will make them much more interested and willing to learn. If you are doing activities as a whole class perhaps encourage them to write their answers on whiteboards and share views with the class. If you have shy children try and encourage them to say their answers out loud. The class will praise them as well as you as their teacher.
If you have a big interactive whiteboard in your classroom it can be a good idea to do activities there. This is a great way for the whole class to focus as they will all be looking at the same thing. They come with pens so you can fill in the blanks and play games on them.
One example is playing bingo on a subject you have just leant about. If you have been learning animals in French or Spanish you could play BINGO. Get the animals on the screen and ask the children to pick one as they come up to the front of the class. The winner could get a point for themselves or their team.
Positivity
If you want your children to be positive and have faith in themselves then you need to show happiness and encouragement as well. If you turn up miserable and grumpy to teach your students won’t be very happy, they too will be grumpy. Nobody wants to teach miserable children for six hours.
Listening is also key when teaching and encouraging children. If they come to tell you something don’t push them aside, give them time to explain their thoughts and feelings. Ensure you give them an answer as well, this proves to them that you have actively listened.
Finally, make sure you show enthusiasm to teach. Walk through the door with a smile on your face and don’t let that smile leave until the end of the day.
We hope this article helps you as a teacher to understand how different learners take information in. We hope it also helps you understand how to encourage all your students to love learning and look forward to coming to class.
