Teaching is a behavioral science that can achieve better teaching results through appropriate methods than the ordinary mode of “speaking and listening”. This article will introduce some important long-term teaching methods.

Understand the Needs of Students

Understand students’ needs. Think about what qualities your students should have to make them invincible in the future workplace. Think about the skills you have now and how to teach these skills to your students, as well as those who are in society. Necessary principles of life, as well as some basic skills, such as reading and mathematical abilities, etc. After thinking clearly, rank the contents to be taught in order of importance.

Then consider what, beyond basic survival skills, students need to improve their quality of life in the future. These abilities will help students have a happy and fulfilling life, such as creativity and high emotional intelligence, which will help students better solve problems in life.

Finally, consider social skills. The problem-solving ability in the subject is only one of the contents of teaching. What is more important is that you also need to cultivate students’ self-confidence, self-esteem, and ability to relieve stress, regulate emotions, and interact with others. Think carefully about what methods you can use in your classroom to improve students’ abilities in these areas.

Setting Goals

Set overall goals. After you determine what you want to teach your students, you next need to set some overall goals. For example, if you are a preschool teacher and you want to teach kindergarten children to read, then you must first set a goal to teach them to learn to read simple pinyin and Chinese characters.

Set specific goals. After you have set your overall goals, it’s time to set specific goals for your course. Taking the kindergarten teacher above as an example, you can first teach students to read the finals, then the initials, and then simple common words and two-character words.

Briefly write down the ways through which these specific goals should be achieved. Now that you have established your goals, you should list the abilities your students will need to achieve them. Some smaller teaching objectives can be listed in the middle. For example, for the preschool teacher above, you can list which classes teach which Pinyin, which classes teach single-syllable Pinyin, and then two-syllable Pinyin, etc.

Arrange Specific Lesson Plans

Set a lesson plan for each lesson based on the specific objectives of the lesson that were previously created. When making specific plans for each lesson, try to be as detailed as possible. For example, you can list the specific skills that students should master in this lesson.

Consider teaching students by their aptitude. Every student has different learning characteristics. You should set up teaching methods according to students’ different characteristics so that all students can master the content you teach. You can use listening, videos, games, writing on the blackboard, and your oral explanations in class to enrich your teaching format.

Combine the teaching of various subjects to achieve a comprehensive understanding. It would be better if you had the opportunity to integrate teaching, for example, you can combine mathematics with natural science, mathematics, and history. This will help them apply the knowledge they have learned to real life. After all, everything in nature is interconnected. Of course, you can also learn from the teaching experience of teachers in other subjects, or cooperate with them to give students a rich and colorful class that integrates various subjects.

Interact with Students

Use pictures and videos. Give students as many visual impressions as you can so your students have a more concrete idea of what you’re teaching. Most abstract concepts are difficult to understand. At this time, using concrete videos or pictures will be of great help to students’ learning, and they will not be easily distracted.

Organize games. Under normal circumstances, do not give lectures for more than 15 minutes at a time. During the teaching process, you need to always pay attention to students’ concentration and keep their brains active through games and other activities. For example, you can use games, group discussions, or question and answer time to keep students actively engaged.

• If you use a question-and-answer format, you have to make sure that while some students are answering questions, other students are also paying attention. For example, you can draw lots, and when the student’s name is called, he/she has to get up and ask or answer a question. Try to arrange some simple and open-ended questions so that when students are drawn, they will not be left with nothing to say.

When giving lectures, give more examples from life. Because the ultimate goal of learning is to solve practical problems in life, when giving lectures, examples from their lives or around them are often used. Otherwise, students will question the necessity of their studies and may become bored with studying.

• For example: when teaching mathematics, you can discuss paying bills in life, loan interest rates, and other problems you will encounter in work; when teaching English, you can contact how to write application materials when you want to study abroad; when teaching natural sciences, you can explain in combination with unblocking pipes, how to deal with colds in life, etc.; when teaching history, you can talk about political issues and electoral rights that are closely related to students’ daily lives; when teaching social studies, you can talk about children, friends, and strangers meaning for a person’s future.

Stimulate the Potential for Independent Learning

Apply what you learn. The purpose of children going to school is not just to pass certain exams, but to equip them with the ability to survive independently in society. So taking students outside isn’t just about letting them play games or soaking up the sun (although those are also great activities), it’s about getting them to put into practice what they’ve learned in the classroom.

• Students can be taken to the beach to observe animals and plants, and apply the knowledge learned in biology class to life; students can be asked to perform English texts in the form of drama so that students can appreciate the subtleties of language; Students can be taken to nursing homes to digest the knowledge learned in sociology classes; students can also be taken to visit prisoners in prisons to let them understand historical knowledge.

Let them experiment. Allow students to put forward different viewpoints and have their own different ideas. Keep their enthusiasm for the subject alive by letting them research what interests them on their own.

• For example, if you are conducting an experiment on mice running a maze, if your students suddenly ask “What will be the effect of adding a mirror to the maze?”, you can let the students try their own ideas. The purpose of the experiment is to let students learn useful knowledge rather than just a formality.

Encourage innovation. To allow students to be more innovative, you can assign some homework to students, but only explain the goals to be achieved by the homework, and do not specify how to complete the process. In this way, students can find a learning method that suits them and their true interests. At the same time, you should encourage them more and motivate them to work hard to realize their ideas.

• For example, you can ask students to write an English composition, but only specify the scope of the topic and some words that need to be used in the essay, but do not limit the order of use of these words. They can write a comedy, write a lyric, write a speech, write an essay, or make a PPT presentation, whatever.

Consolidate What You Have Learned

Take the initiative to ask students about their learning status during self-study. When students are studying on their own, you can go around the classroom and proactively ask students if they have any questions and how difficult they feel about the knowledge they have learned. If they just answer “ok” or “not bad”, you can ask more in-depth questions. For example, you can ask them about the problem they are working on and what their thinking is about solving the problem.

Discuss wrong topics. After the homework is completed, based on the performance of the whole class, we will analyze and discuss the questions with more mistakes, analyze similar exercises, etc. Tell them what are the common mistakes in the problem and what are the methods to solve it. Don’t just tell students the answers, but analyze the reasons behind the answers. This will develop their stronger problem-solving skills.

Review what you have learned often. The knowledge you have learned should be reviewed frequently and can be combined with old knowledge when learning new knowledge. In this way, the knowledge learned will not be forgotten. Just like learning a new language, you need to constantly review and use previously learned words.

• For example, if you want to teach students to write argumentative essays, you can first review the methods of writing argumentative essays you have learned, and then discuss how interspersing short stories with argumentative meanings in the argumentative essays can resonate with readers. You can also discuss the impact of different tones on reader comprehension.

Evaluate Learning Effectiveness

Design exam papers with moderate difficulty. Have you ever given a test that was too easy or that only covered a few chapters of the book rather than the entire book? If you have made mistakes in this area, you should know how to write a moderately difficult test paper. The score of one test should not have a great impact on the assessment scores of the entire semester. The assessment should be based on the students’ performance in all aspects.

Consider other ways to assess student performance besides exams. Some smart students may not be outstanding in exams, and some may even be extremely bad at it. On the contrary, some students who are stuck in reading may achieve very good results in exams. Consider other ways to assess learning and don’t rely too heavily on traditional exams.

• Focus on students’ understanding of what they are learning, rather than just knowing the answers on the surface. For example, you can give students a life scenario and use the knowledge they have learned to solve the problem, either by writing a paper or giving a speech. This can further consolidate their knowledge and make them understand the importance of this knowledge.

Pay attention to the development of speech skills. Public speaking is a very important ability, but not everyone who has learned public speaking skills can speak well. Allowing your students to give presentations in front of the class is not only an opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned but also to develop their public speaking skills. Let the whole class take turns giving speeches to see which students or areas are deficient, and then make targeted improvements.

• You can also ask students to speak to you alone. This approach is more like an interview, they will be less nervous and more confident. In this way, you can also ask your students about their knowledge of what they have learned.
• You can also ask students to speak to you alone. This approach is more like an interview, they will be less nervous and more confident. In this way, you can also ask your students about their knowledge of what they have learned.

Reward Success and Learn from Failure

Let students suggest rewards they would like to receive. You can start by making a list of prizes, either individually or for the whole class, and then let students pick their favorites. This ensures they get the prize they like, not the prize you “think” they like, and they’ll study harder for it.

Don’t just see failures, see opportunities for progress and success. If a student fails a test, don’t just think of it as a failure, but see potential opportunities for improvement and success. Let them try a few more times, and help and guide them along the way. Remember, don’t say “You did it wrong” during the process, but “Get close” and “Come on”. Success achieved after failure or repeated attempts can give students a deeper memory than students who just copy the same thing or get it right by chance.

Encourage teamwork. In traditional teaching environments, students with poor academic performance and good classmates often do not interact with each other, but poor students often feel jealous. You should create an environment of mutual learning and mutual help so that they can fully realize the principle of “friendship first, performance second”. In this way, when they grow up and enter the working environment, they will also be people who are helpful and understand teamwork. You can divide the whole class into several groups. If any student in the group achieves good results, other students will receive rewards.

For example, you can tell your students that as long as one classmate in the class gets good grades, then the whole class can get rewards, including giving them extra points, or other rewards they prefer. This approach encourages students to work together and learn from each other.

Satisfy Emotional Needs

Make them feel unique and important. Tell each student what makes them unique and important, and promote those characteristics. At the same time, allowing each student to discover their strengths and strengths will increase their self-confidence and may gradually point to their future career direction.

Recognize their efforts. Even if a student occasionally makes a small effort, they should be recognized by you. Whenever you notice that a student has made an effort, point it out to him/her individually and use an approving tone. If they have made great efforts, they can be given appropriate material rewards. If a student suddenly jumps from a failing grade to a good grade, you can give him or her “extra credit” because of his or her great effort.

Respect students. Whether your students are PhD candidates or kindergarteners, you should treat them with respect. Respect their intelligence, abilities, ideas, emotions and lifestyles. You respect them and they will respect you.

Receive Feedback

Ask students for feedback. Ask them about the pros and cons of the course, either by talking to them one-on-one or using an anonymous questionnaire.

Ask students’ families for feedback. Ask the student’s parents to see if the student has improved or regressed in abilities, confidence, and social skills. This way you can provide feedback to parents on student progress observed in the classroom, while also learning about potential problems that may have gone unnoticed.

Ask your principal or colleagues for feedback. If you are a teacher in a school, invite the principal or an experienced colleague to observe your class and listen to their opinions and suggestions.

Update Knowledge and Keep Learning

Always read the latest newspapers and magazines, learn the latest teaching methods, and make use of recent teaching research results to avoid your methods becoming outdated.

Attend teaching training. Participate in more training on teaching methods so that you will not forget the teaching methods you have learned.

Observe other teachers’ classes. Observe the lessons of experienced and struggling teachers, record the strengths and weaknesses of their lessons, and apply what you learned in your classroom.

Tips

• You should always be passionate about what you teach. If a teacher is interested in what he/she is teaching, he/she will be more humorous during class and interact with students frequently. But a teacher who follows a script gives a boring lesson.