If you are new to teaching or thinking about starting an education degree, you probably are wondering where you should start in the classroom. Being a new teacher with no in-class experience can be a little daunting, but it doesn’t need to be. Here are some great tips that can help you with your first term as a teacher.
1. Get to know the students
If you set aside a little time to talk with your students you will be able to get their trust a lot faster. If you can build some meaningful relationships with your students you will be able to communicate complex ideas and concept with greater ease as they will trust what you are telling them.
This does not mean that you have to limit your conversations to the classroom. you should also be thinking about how you can have casual conversations in the cafeteria, on the playground and even in the hallway. This can open up lines of communication that are very valuable to you and the students you teach.
2. Don’t try to keep up with the other teachers
Other teachers that you meet may have a lot more experience than you. They will have seen and heard it all. They can be a great resource and asking their advice is one of the best ways to learn. One thing that you should always be aware of though is that you have your whole career to improve and you should not feel disheartened by their incredible ability to control a classroom compared to yours. You will get there, it will just take a little time.
3. Keep on top of all of your paperwork
You will have a lot of paperwork to do, as you get more years under your belt you will no doubt develop a system for dealing with it all. For now, you should strive to get things done as fast as you can. Allowing paperwork to build up can cause you to miss deadlines which is not an ideal first impression at your first school.
4. Stay confident
You need to always be ready to bounce back from any setbacks. It’s important that you are always confident in your teaching abilities and take each and every day in the school with a positive attitude.
5. Get to know everyone
Other teachers, support staff, custodians, administrators and parents are all people that you should be taking the time to get to know so that when you need something they know exactly who you are at any given time.
6. Gather resources as you go
As time goes on there will be some tools and materials that you come across that help you teach a specific topic or subject. Be sure that you keep hold of all of these as they will be very useful to you in the future. Over time you will have amassed a huge library of information and programming that you can use time and time again.
7. Make it fun
This should go without saying. If you can find a way to make a subject more engaging and still be on topic then you should dive right in. When you think back to when you were in school imagine the difference it would have made if you had a teacher that went the extra mile to take a dry subject and make it entertaining. Be careful not to go too far, but with a little imagination, you can have the classroom hanging off your every word.
