Teaching 411 Blog“Students hate to be taught, but they love to learn.”

So far we have discussed the teacher, the learner, the communication and the lesson separately. Now we need to observe how these elements work together in function. The actual work of the teacher consists of the awakening and setting in action the mind of the student, the arousing of his activities.

Thus, the teacher must excite and direct the activities of the student and as a rule never tell him anything he can learn for himself. Make your student a discoverer of truth — make him find out for himself.

“Wake up your pupils’ minds”;
“Set the pupils to thinking”;
“Arouse the spirit of inquiry”;
“Get your pupils to work.”

As the teacher, it is your responsiblity to create an atmosphere for the true function of teaching. This function is to create the most favorable conditions for self-learning. True teaching isn’t giving knowledge but creating the desire to gain knowledge.

The work of the teacher is to use their skills to excite the student about gaining knowledge and then supplying the atmosphere and conditions for the student to learn.

In the process of discussing the 7 Elements of Teaching, the teacher must discover if the learner even knows how to learn. It is very possible that the learner does not know how to learn. Therefore, you (the teacher) must stop and supply the learner with the necessary tools for learning.

If the learner doesn’t have the proper tools then your lesson will not carry over into the fifth element.

The fourth element in the process of teaching is the LESSON.

A knowledgable teacher will build a lesson that takes what the student knows and finds a connection to the new material. If the new material is connected to material already known it is more likely to stick. The key to learning new things is connection.

The lesson must be mastered in the terms of the facts already known by the learner — the unknown must be explained by means of the known.

But, the teacher must still get and maintain the students attention. A task that requires a bit of skill and a lot of practice. A teacher who thinks that the curriculum is sufficient will never be a great teacher.

The second element in the process of teaching is the learner or student and the proper training of the learner is found in the acquisition, elaboration, and application of knowledge and skills.

The first goal of teaching is to stimulate a love for learning in the student, and to help the learner build habits that will lead to independent study. However, this will not happen if the teacher doesn’t gain and keep the attention of the learner.

A teacher should never try to teach without the attention of the learner. It’s a waste of time.

The first element in the teaching process is the teacher. The teacher must be prepared, confident and a good example.

Being prepared is being able to explain, illustrate, and apply the material. A teacher’s ready and evident knowledge will give the student needed confidence.

The unprepared and ignorant teacher is a slave to the textbook. She will lack confidence, appear weak and be boring.

However, the prepared and knowledgeable teacher is liberated from the textbook. Thus, free to concentrate on the lesson and the progress of the student.