How to teach material, without killing instruction time.
One of the biggest fears of teachers is not enough time to teach material, which is why they’ll often just cover the material.
What is the difference between teaching and covering materials? A lot of times it boils down to leaving room for the inevitable questions and tangents that will arise, after the material is presented.
Covering presents concepts, facts, and information; the main objective is retention for purposes of recall and testing. Teaching allows for processing the material, asking questions, and connecting it to known concepts; the objective is creative thinking where the information is used in new and different ways.
Both are key to student engagement and learning.
Simply put, you’ve to have some knowledge before you can think creatively about something!
Let them know what the next unit study is going to be, and ask them to come in to class with 1 or 2 things they know about the subject, and 1 or 2 things they want to know about the subject. Do the same thing for yourself.
What are the big takeaways your students need? How does it fit in with previously units? Include review opportunities to illustrate the connected nature of knowledge and refresh concepts. Does it tie in to other classes? How does it relate to things, outside the classroom environment?
3. Have a running vocabulary sheet for the unit.
As you design your lesson plan, share words or concepts that were unfamiliar to you. It’s a great way to connect with your students and illustrate that everyone is learning, all the time, even teachers. Encourage students to go up and add to the sheet during class time; model this behavior as well.
Encourage students to write down their “I wonder” questions. It’s a great way for you to see how they are relating to the information, and explore potential extensions. Remember to model; not everyone feels comfortable sharing their inner musings.
While you’re not there to entertain your students, fun engages learners and makes things memorable. The more pleasure or joy we feel doing something, the more we want to do it. Let’s find fun and interesting ways to present information. Find tie-ins where possible. Relate it to the known.
And remember, if they’re not getting it…it’s most likely the way in which the information is being communicated.
And the R word…alongside the Y word.
It’s the old adage of knowing the rules before you can break the rules.
Which is going to involve the F word.
When something doesn’t go quite as planned.
So the question isn’t so much teaching our kids to be creative, as it is teaching our kids to start over, in the face of failing.
Which brings up the R word.
So what’s the Y word?
And it can make a world of difference to learners.
​As in "You don’t know yet. But you'll figure it out."
So what will you do differently on your next try?