didactics is more than just presenting science. teaching includes inspiring people and transforming minds. so it should happen carefully. a 10 item list of succesful teaching methods.
I enter the room. No one is there. Tables somewhere
strayed around the space. Some listeners enter, confused where to sit down. Ten
minutes later the teacher comes in. She wants to hold a presentation, using her
laptop, but she forgot to bring an adapter. She tries some inappropriate jokes
and personal comments about students in order to regain the lost attention of
her students. Instead of listening to her unprepared words, I start thinking
about didactics and teaching methods. What makes a good teacher? How can we
successfully lead learners? The result of a psychology-course on mental
diseases is this 10 item list, how we could improve our lectures and trainings!
1.
teaching is timing
Teaching is location. Location means: time, space and
environmental conditions. I love to compare teaching contexts to Christmas Eve.
Even though we would hold the celebration in our living room, we would prepare
everything perfectly for hours. We would dress up in nice clothes and get ready
as early as possible.
Getting ready for a course is kind of the same. As a
teacher you should check if your teaching space corresponds to your ideas of
teaching? Are tables set in a useful order? Did you check your devices for
showing videos or playing music? Is the space clean? I usually enter my
teaching space as early as possible. Also, being early creates a meditative
character of taking my time for a mindful preparation towards teaching.
Another aspect is clothing: As I’m teaching movement,
I work in trainers a lot. Anyway - I learned that dressing up for teaching
helps being serious and confirmed. People who work in home offices hear that
advice quite often: even if you don’t leave house, get ready for work! From my
own perspective, I can share this attitude: even if I teach in sport clothing I
try to care as much as possible on my appearance as a course holder.
2. teaching is preparing
One of my most astonishing impressions on teaching is
the fact that a group always realizes your unpreparedness. I never met a group
which would not notice any kind of insecurity towards my own concepts. A good
preparation is everything. Preparation includes a time structure, but also a
reflection on what your student group might ask and need. Consider plan B’s
once you are insecure about an exercise. Of course, something always can go
wrong and many teachers are stressed dealing with lecture emergencies. I
developed a good technique for myself how to handle failures and unexpected
events: I first often talk about the problem and then ask them how they would
solve it! I never met a group which wouldn’t be able and willing to support any
situation (unequal number in exercises, bad weather during outdoor trainings
etc.)
3.
teaching is transparency
A good class starts with a structure. All your
students should know what you planned for the session and especially – why!
Structure means security and security allows opening your mind for thinking and
reflecting. Also structure means care and preparation, which will be associated
with valuation. If people know what will happen during a class and why they
might be more likely to interact and cooperate.
4.
share your methods and your way to approach
What we all remember from school are our good, and our
bad teachers. Many times I wondered how my good teachers – people who inspired
me to learn, became the person they were. How did they behave as students and
how did they learn the content they are sharing today? As a teacher, you do not
only share the content you are supposed to teach, but also your personal way of
being a student in the past. You incorporate experience, failure and reflection
– and all these should be shared with your students. My personal experience in
learning was that I would be more motivated when I could imagine the real
person behind my teacher. I would not only be encouraged in improving my goal
orientated skills, but also my personality.
5.
teacher’s characteristics
Yes, most of us grew up being influenced by the ‘Dead
Poets Society’ teaching ideals. Someone who is unconventionally loving and
believing inspires young students to do greater than they would ever imagine.
What does the fictional character John Keating teach us? A good teacher is
enthusiastic, and a good lesson should never stop with the bell ring. Instead,
a successful lesson continues in books, journals, conversations and in your
student’s thoughts. Moreover ‘Dead Poets Society’ taught us that good teachers
act encouraging and authentic towards their students. You can’t use any better
method than your own one.
6.
respect people as learners
Everyone joining your class is a fully functioning
person, filled with creative and individual thoughts and shaped with own
experiences of life. Even if your students are just half of your own age, I
invite you to respect them as a mature and self-determined people. How much did
you dislike it, when your parents replied to your questions with: “because I
said so.” Once we interact with students in a cooperative way, we invite them
to participate and also improve our own teaching situation.
7.
from where the people are
Compared to their students, teachers have one advantage:
they already traversed the stage of learning. They had their own time for
confusion, disillusion, explanation and motivation revivals. I love to compare
learning things to starting training for a marathon. You start training small
distances, interrupted by breaks of walking. When you just start training, you
are still getting out of breath very early., How much would it help you, if
someone tells you how to regain your energy after two hours of running? It
would not help you at all. I experience these situations during my classes
quite often: I personally love dancing and working on the floor, but I often
interact with people who haven’t sat on a wooden floor for ages. Telling them
to roll around and start moaning would only cause confusion and fear. I usually
start with simple and concrete exercises, which invite students to find their
own ways towards this unknown universe called “floor”. As teachers, we are not
teaching fix concepts, but pathways. And maybe a new perspective might result
out of this.
8.
trust in your groups abilities
Humans interact compassionate, empathic and group
oriented. This is my experience from teaching groups and individuals. It has
taught me a great lesson on trusting my students in very basic ways of taking
responsibility about a situation. I often meet teachers who get stressed. They
feel they have to care about their students. I would love to share a
perspective I have on responsibility and care: I think we all need to care and
feel responsible about the content we are teaching – and we should invite our
students to explore it, but also care for themselves!
9.
love what you do and believe it’s important
Universities are packed with people absolutely engaged
in research and who view teaching as a need to do to obtain a perspective in
research. I also followed courses, held by unmotivated teachers, who thought
that teaching is actually unnecessary. But note: what you do is not a research
add-on – but a possibility to inspire and influence many followers – more than
possibly read your research outcomes! Teaching allows us to share our ideas –
and also to receive input from many people with a different perspective on
things. Teaching is a conversation, a mental dance in a universe filled with
knowledge.
10.
leading is listening
This is my favorite one! I don’t have to be a great
leader in order to teach courses – the most important is that I can follow!
Teaching means processing empathy towards a group of learners, understand their
needs and their routines in learning. How much do they pause during a lesson?
Does this group need more structure or does chaos provide a baseline for
creative thinking? Are these people used to follow routines or does
organization stress them out? I never experienced a group to be identical to
another group – which inspires me a lot in my work. Therefore I don’t see
myself as a leader – I consider myself to be a listener.
One of my most exciting discoveries in teaching is the
fact that teaching provides learning. Every group I’ve been teaching and every
session I guided through has changed and broadened my perspective and therefore
I am thankful for every person that I met during my classes.
