What Are The Best Ways To Become A Better Teacher?

An excellent teacher has the power to transform a person’s life, and it wouldn’t be difficult to say that every teacher wants to be able to do this; they want to inspire their pupils to become contributing members of society and to truly make the most of their lives. 

In order to ensure this happens, those teachers need to be the best they can be. So, if you’re a teacher and you want to improve your skills and be the best for the sake of your students and yourself, what is it you need to do? What makes a great teacher as opposed to a good one, or a fair one? Read on to find out. 

Be Open To Teamwork 

When you are a teacher, you might think that you need to work alone. You have your classes, your subject, and you teach by yourself. Although this is technically the case a lot of the time, when you think about what goes on ‘behind the scenes’, you’ll realize that there is a lot more teamwork in teaching than you might have thought – or rather, there should be if you want to be a better teacher. 

The more you can collaborate with colleagues, the more you’ll be able to offer your students. For example, you might be the lead in a subject, but if there is another teacher who also has an understanding of it, you can combine your talents to create a new and exciting lesson plan. Even if this is not possible, you can still rely on the support of the rest of your colleagues. 

Teamwork isn’t just about working with peers; however, teamwork might be about working with your students. Instead of dividing the class into teacher and students, if you all contribute and all work together, the classes will be more engaging for all involved. 

Show Passion When Teaching 

Teachers often begin their professions with a passion to do well. The problem is that this emotion can easily fade, just like it can in any job because the work becomes more like a habit than something that really means anything anymore. Repeating the same things and discussing the same subjects repeatedly reduces the teacher’s interest in them.

This impacts all teachers, including those who cover a broad range of subjects.

Unfortunately, losing that spark of enthusiasm will have a negative impact on your teaching quality. If a teacher is not interested in what they are teaching, how are the students expected to find their own passion for a subject? 

In order to get past this issue, the best thing to do is to create different and interesting lesson plans. Make each day different, make it engaging, be as creative as you can. Not only will your students enjoy this and remember more, but you’ll have a better time too, and you’ll quickly regain – and even grow – your passion. The best teachers are the ones who are clearly interested in what they’re teaching, and it can make a huge difference to their students when there is passion in their words. 

Manage Your Time Well 

Everyone is aware that teachers work hard and have a lot to do. As a teacher, you must not only spend hours upon hours in the classroom, but you must also prepare the topic ahead of time. 

Refreshing your knowledge on both new and old subjects helps to strengthen your understanding and ensures you are prepared for any questions that might be asked of you (and in an engaged class, there should be questions). Understandably, this takes a significant amount of time, and it’s difficult to keep track of all the various topics you need to cover. This is when time can feel short, and you might not think you can do everything asked of you, so you have to choose, and that might mean that, while you are a good teacher, you’re not a great one. 

This is where time management needs to be considered. Time management is crucial in every profession, but it is particularly critical in teaching. Use as many time-saving techniques as you can to shorten the time it takes to prepare topics. Some teachers like to provide reminders and flashcards for students to read before a key topic, for example. 

Never Stop Learning 

Providing assistance to pupils in their learning is just part of the work of a teacher. Students aren’t the only ones who will need to pick up a few new skills; teachers must always be on the lookout for fresh and relevant knowledge in their profession. Those who teach must know all the information about what they’re teaching, and many topics change as time goes by. Or perhaps it’s not the subject matter that changes, but instead, it’s teaching methods that need to be updated. Either way, when you want to be a great teacher, you should never stop learning, and an MA in education is something that will definitely help you succeed and something that will help your students too. 

You should think of teaching as another talent that can be honed. The more you can do to improve yourself, the better you will be. 

Be Prepared

Teaching is a unique profession with both advantages and disadvantages. The teacher’s working year is often regarded as one of the most important advantages of becoming a teacher; instead of a typical twelve-month work year, teachers do get a lot more time off during the summer and around Christmas, for example. 

However, this doesn’t mean that time is spent doing nothing and that no work is done. Although some teachers might take the opportunity to relax, others – the ones who want to be the best – will not only take care of their own wellbeing, but they will also ensure that the coming academic year is going to be a fascinating and memorable one for their students. They will be prepared, and they will work hard to offer the best education to those in their care.