Wednesday, 31 May, 2023 - 16:15
As every educator well knows, teaching can be a challenging profession – requiring a bountiful supply of knowledge, patience and skill.
Balancing different learning styles, keeping students engaged and inspired, and dealing with difficult behaviours and are just some of the challenges today’s teachers face.
In this article, we outline key challenges and offer some tips to smooth the path ahead.
Keeping students engaged
Engaged students are a joy to teach. They listen, follow instructions, are enthusiastic and motivated learners and have better academic outcomes. But keeping students engaged and interested in what they are learning is one of the biggest challenges teachers face.
Savvy teachers know that incorporating interactive and hands-on activities into the classroom can engage and inspire students. Technology such as virtual field trips, online simulations and educational videos are all great resources to keep students interested in their learning.
Now that life has gone back to a ‘new’ normal after COVID, teachers can also investigate and incorporate school activities, school excursions and school camps to further students’ learning in a fun and engaging way.
Balancing different learning styles
Every class you ever take will likely be a mixed bag of ability – requiring a range of teaching skills. Some students learn quickly; others struggle. Given that there are a wide range of learning styles, a teacher has to think outside the box when it comes to meeting the needs of each of their students.
To help meet the needs of all of your students, incorporate questions, tasks and problem-sets into your lesson planning that cater for different stages and levels of practice. Hands-on activities, visual aids and group work can also help balance different learning styles.
Managing behaviour
A key challenge for educators is to create a positive and respectful classroom environment, while managing student behaviour. Disciplining students can be complex and challenging in the classroom – and emotionally taxing and time-consuming for teachers.
It’s important to establish clear expectations and rules from the get-go – and communicate this clearly to your students in words, actions and reminders.
Once students have a good grasp of what is expected from them in your classroom, provide positive reinforcement to encourage good behaviour, while maintaining a consistent system of consequences for negative behaviours.
Quick tip: Be clear about your boundaries. Does it bother you if students get out of their seat without permission? Are you comfortable with students joking with you? By communicating what is and what is not important to you avoids wasting time managing unnecessary issues.
Communicating effectively with parents and caregivers
Communicating with parents and caregivers can be challenging, especially when dealing with difficult or sensitive topics.
It’s important to establish clear lines of communication with parents from the start of the school year – using a mixture of one-on-one conversations, email and messaging. Once you have parents onboard, it’s easier to emphasise the importance of collaboration in student success.
Time restraints
Teachers have to fit in a LOT of learning in a school year. Added to the challenge is the limited amount of time in a school year to cover all of the necessary curriculum requirements. Effective time management is critical to ensure that you cover all of curriculum and that your lessons are engaging and effective.
Creating and managing lesson plans and schedules will be a key element in using your teaching time effectively. And where possible and appropriate, delegate!
There’s no doubt that teaching will always be a challenging profession (maybe that’s why we love it so much!), requiring dedication and skill. However, by addressing some of the key challenges and implementing some simple solutions, educators can improve their effectiveness and create a more positive and engaging learning environment for their students.