By definition, the term “environment” may refer either to actual physical surroundings or to social or cultural background factors. It is the aggregate of surrounding things, influences, or conditions that alter life of a person, or the population at large. By nature, all organisms respond to changes in the surrounding by evolutionary adaptations in their forms and behavior. Therefore, the environment in which a learner grows in contributes to his/her success or failure.
A Supportive Academic Environment is the kind of surrounding that gives all students in a class, or in any other place designated for learning, satisfaction and equal opportunities to achieve their best.
It is one that provides students with the opportunity to attend presentations, lectures, cultural events, group and individual work, discussions and presentations. In such kind of an environment, a person develops team spirit and courage to stand in front of people and express himself/herself. Communication skills are also well inculcated.
A good teacher is one with empathy and positive mental attitude. He is the one who is ready to provide new ideas, systems and approaches. He is a fine role model for many young people. The procedures that a teacher lays out in class are the key elements of a classroom management plan.
Much of the procedures really depend on the age group to be taught. These procedures can be broken up into three categories: Beginning of classes, Middle of classes and the End of classes. A teacher should prepare the schemes of work and a reasonable working lesson plan before going to a teaching session. This helps one manage the time well and avoid the last minute rush in a class, as this may affect the students.
At the beginning of the class, the tone of the whole session is established as the teacher walks into the classroom. Greet the students each day as this makes the tone of the class friendly and much more manageable throughout. Encourage the students to walk as they are coming to class. This helps avoid haste when the bell rings and time wasted is reduced. Ask students to get settled and avoid yelling before the class starts. Once the tone of the class has been established by a well-refined entry, much of the class time is spent on learning.
Good teaching is much about passion and reason (Marlowe & Canestrari, 2006). It not only motivates students to learn, but also teaches them how to learn and do this in a manner that is relevant, memorable and meaningful. An effective teacher should treat students as consumers of knowledge, reading sources inside and outside the area of expertise and always be a step ahead of the learners. By doing this, the students get the feeling that they have the right teacher.
Bridge the gap between theory and practice. Use demonstrations where possible, as they provide an opportunity to learn new exploration and visual learning tasks from a different perspective. These demonstrations entail the use of experimentation to express ideas in a science class, for example. In a literature class, narration may help create humor and thus make the class lively and consequently, this brings the minds of the students back to class.
To ensure that learners understand the concept, a good teacher should listen to questions and respond to them clearly, develop oral communication skills, encourage and motivate quiet students to speak up (Marlowe & Canestrari, 2006). An effective teacher should be strict, but flexible.
A teacher should move around the classroom to ensure that all students are attentive and taking the notes when necessary. He/she should discourage movements in the class. Students should hold good postures. Sitting arrangement is also a factor of an effective teaching. Integrate bright students with the rest to pull them up.
A teacher should know the right time to end the class since this helps determine how much information is retained or forgotten by the students. Finishing well is one of the primary keys to success. The teacher should control when the class period ends and not the bell to take the authority away from him/her, since this may leave some points unclear to the learners. Avoid placing books and other necessary equipment away or free the students from classes before its time.
This helps your students to stay focused throughout the lesson. Leaving the class is also a key point to good behavior and hence success. Discourage running and screaming when moving out of the class. To do this, write down the procedures and give a copy to the students to act as a reminder from time to time and to know what is expected from them. Never leave any question without an answer.
The character of a person is often represented by the stages through which people pass as they mature; from childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. As a child, a kid can understand a practical thing more than a theoretical one. In such a case, an effective teacher should enhance practical approach in handling children at this age.
For instance, take a subject like Mathematics, counting using physical objects help children understand addition and subtraction. The teacher should also understand that kids at this age are very playful (Marlowe & Canestrari, 2006). Thus, he/she will know the way to reduce the behavior, but in a positive way- avoid punishing the learners frequently as this draws them away from you. In case of older people, provide a talk on the behavior and performance.
To become an effective teacher, one should focus on subgroups such as gifted children and those with disabilities. This distinction will help a teacher to know those students who require more attention to catch up with the rest. Children classified as gifted should be often provided with enriched programs to challenge their mind hence developing their intellectual capacities.
Each person has individual characteristics, abilities and challenges which result from learning and development of the mind. These are manifested as individual differences in creativity, intelligence, motivation, capacity to process information, communicate, and ability to communicate with others (Marlowe & Canestrari, 2006).
In conclusion, an effective teacher should give assignments and evaluation exams regularly, preferably after every topic and later mark and go through the paper with the students. Separate those with disabilities, such as shortsightedness and blindness into groups, pay more attention and provide special equipment such as braille papers and books for the blind.
This will ensure that there are no children who are left behind in the class performance in compliance with the No Child Left behind Act. It will also ensure all children to develop their cognition efficiently, as they will feel appreciated regardless of any form of disability.
References
Marlowe,B., A. & Canestrari A., S. (2006). Educational psychology in context: readings for future teachers. New York: Sage.