7 Things That Every Teacher Should Practice In Professional Life

 

I am teaching my students every word from the textbook without skipping anything, still students fail to understand my lessons! 

So many books and papers for correction are pending? I will take it home, that's the best idea. 

So much paperwork is to be done! My god, how and when will I plan to take my lessons! 

How much ever easy paper I set for the examination but still my students fail to get the best marks? 

Are you the one who has plenty of questions like this but still not able to find a proper solution for it. Then, this article is especially for you. 

Teachers are very crucial resource persons in the Teaching - Learning Process. The product of this process is the major factor that adds value to the educational growth of our nation and uplifts our Nation to be educationally competent among the other nations of the world. 

Teachers are expected to upgrade themselves on a regular basis but due to poor resource management, poor time management and excess work pressure, they end up giving an average lesson in the classroom, thereby leaving the students unsatisfied with the teaching skill. 

Below is the list of 7 things that every teacher should follow in their professional career to yield beautiful and overflowing harvest: 

1. Enter The Field With Thorough Preparation:

The present scenario: Most of the teachers enter into the classroom with poor preparation or zero preparation. After entering the classroom, they just open the textbook and read line by line without explaining the concept, without clearly the doubts, without doing any pre class activity or post class activity, without any recapitulation and revision but just dictates notes for that specific chapter at the end of the lecture and finally the students realises that the chapter is finished. This is the major reason why most students are shifting and attracted towards the coaching centers or tuition classes as they don't get the expected kind of teaching and learning environment in a school or college. 

So the only way to avoid these distractions is to make our teaching and learning process interesting with the use of different teaching styles and advanced preparation a day prior to your lecture.

1. Make your lesson plans not just in the books and papers but in students' lives.

2. Implement every kind of activity that is possible within that topic.

3. Make use of different reference books to make concepts easy for students. 

4. Stop merely copying the answers from guide books and digest instead. Try to simplify the answers for students.

5. Divide the chapter in many small blocks so that learning becomes easy for students and give question and answers block wise to avoid confusion among the students. 

6. Provide flowchart or mind maps for students for quick revision. 

2. Apply The Bloom's Taxonomy In Your Classroom:

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a powerful teaching and learning tool that can help a teacher to shape nearly everything that happens in your classroom. Bloom's Taxonomy is a hierarchical model that categorizes learning objectives into varying levels of complexity, from basic knowledge and comprehension to advanced evaluation and creation. Bloom's Taxonomy comprises three learning domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Bloom’s taxonomy helps teachers and instructors create curricula, course, lesson plans, and learning activities, as well as formative and summative assessments. It helps ensure that the students have clear measurable goals and expectations. As a teacher our goal should be to use Bloom's taxonomy to encourage higher-order thought in our students by building up from lower-level cognitive skills.

3. Acknowledge And Appreciate The Students By Their Name:

Learning your students' names is the first step in knowing who they are. Calling students by name communicates respect, helps them feel recognized as individuals, and helps to draw out and include shy students in class discussions. Praising students in the classrooms is a tool that motivates students to perform better in school. Also a student feels pride and honour when a teacher recognises him or her by name. It bridges the gap between the teacher and the student and enables positive growth in a student. Acknowledging a student for a good job they have done in school is a path towards their educational achievement. Thus, praise becomes a significant factor in the process of learning. So always make your students feel proud, respected and happy, which ultimately contributes to the biggest achievement as a teacher. 

4. Aim For Professional Growth Irrespective Of Busy Schedule:

Professional development is defined as activities that develop an individual's skills, knowledge, expertise and other characteristics as a teacher.

Professional development is a wise way to be organised and systematic in your approach as a teacher. It helps a teacher to be up to date.  It enables teachers to give their extra time and efforts for the upbringing of students and not merely the paperworks that a teacher is loaded with. A teacher should always be forward and passionate about attending different educational seminars, conferences, workshops and keep doing certain action research for solving the local problems and improving the quality of teaching and learning. 

But very few teachers  devote their time for their professional upgradation. After getting the B. Ed or D.Ed training, they stop their journey of learning by starting the journey of earning. So try best to be the smart masters and experts in your subject thereby winning your students heart. 

5. Know The National Educational Policy And National Curriculum Framework Thoroughly:

It is very important for a teacher to know the significance of the different educational policies and curricular frameworks being framed by our nation. With the implementation of NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL POLICY - 2020 there are tremendous changes being recommended by the drafting committee for holistic development and upliftment of the students, teachers and the institutions at large. A teacher should always be keen to know the recommendations suggested and the actions implemented. A teacher should not be dependent on the school administrator or the principal to update teachers about the changes but the interest for the same should rise from within oneself as teachers are one of the major stakeholders of the educational system. 

6. Be Open For Advice And Welcome Criticism With A Smile:

Open-mindedness creates opportunities to rethink assumptions, identify misinformation, and consider alternative ways to make decisions. Being an open-minded individual helps teachers to grow as a person and learn so much more about the world around you. It makes life less restrictive, more enjoyable, and more of an adventure! Being open-minded also makes the world a better place as less judgment, hatred, and ignorance are thrown around. On the other hand, the teachers should always welcome the negative feedback and criticism with a smile as it will encourage them to give their best every moment from now on and avoid certain techniques or tools which are not advisable or suitable to yield positive change in students. It helps a teacher to be a professional tracker to know the progress in self. 

7. Set Boundaries For Personal And Professional Life:

Whether you reside in an urban area or rural area, personal life is highly affected by challenging and busy work life. Teachers too are no way apart from this scenario. It's a big challenge to balance work and personal life and keep both at the opposite poles without getting attracted. Teachers tend to carry home sagas and stress to their work because of which they are not able to give their best in the workplace. Also they carry the extra load and work from school to their home. This action creates an imbalance in teachers' lives thereby leaving them with no personal space and time to enjoy their life with families and friends. So, teachers ensure that you manage your time so wisely that you restrict your school work in school and home works to home thereby enjoying the peaceful life. 

So, wasn't that interesting to know about the factors where we as teachers should work on to give our 100% in everything that we do. Do not delay, Start implementing these points on a daily basis in your professional life and see the changes and value it adds to your professionalism. Afterall, Perfection in Professionalism is very important to help you scale greater heights. 

ALL THE BEST!! 

HAVE A HAPPY TEACHING!! 

By Shobha Joy Gaddam 

(Academician & Educator)