A Teaching Primer

"Students don't like to be taught, but they love to learn." --Mr. Causey

If you desire to be a better teacher, you need to realize that your students do not want to be taught. However, they do desire to learn and it is your responsibility to get their attention. So, if you are going to capture your students attention you must:

• get to know your audience
• learn to create a memory
• craft your presentation
• produce a memory anchor

Know Your Audience

In order to prepare a lesson that will be remembered, it is important that you know your audience. You must take the time to learn about the likes and dislikes of your students. The more you know about them the better you can serve them.

"How do I find out about them?", you ask. Well, you ask them!!

Ask your students questions that require more than a yes or no answer. You will be surprised how much they will reveal to you once they realize you care. Then use this information to build a relationship with your students.

"People don't care what you know, till they know how much you care."

Create the Memory

Your lessons must create memories. You can create these memories by attaching the desired information to actions. Possible actions could be a rhyme, a song, or a silly story. Humor is always a surefire way to create a memory.

"Remember, if a memory hasn't been created then learning hasn't taken place."

Craft the Presentation

A very important element of the lesson is how you present the lesson. Your presentation should be professional, entertaining and informative.

Determine the information you want to present and narrow it down to an appropriate amount for your class to absorb. Then arrange the information into three points, if you have more than three points you might consider creating more than one presentation from this material. Three points are usually the limit when you consider that you will need time for reflection and review.

Now practice how you will deliver the material. Practice your tone of voice, your gestures and your movement on stage. That's right, I said stage. You should be working to give your students a performance not a lecture. So, give them a performance and you'll have them eating out of your hand.

Anchor the memory

Once a memory has been created and presented it needs to be anchored. When you anchor a lesson it can be recalled over and over whenever needed and that's real learning.

One of the best methods for anchoring a memory is use a story that can be associated with the information being presented. People loves stories and a good story can keep your audience on the edge of their seats.

You can incorporate your points into one long story or you can use a different story for each point. But be absolutely sure that your stories are full of action and color. Actions and color are like the cement for your anchor.

Remember you are giving a performance. Don't cheat your audience.