<h1 id="section_0" class="title_lg" style="text-align: center;">Teach Effectively</h1>
<h1>Using Clear Communication</h1>
You probably became a teacher because you care about young people and want to help them learn. That's great! But sometimes you might wonder if you could teach more effectively. You can do this by using clear communication and offering helpful explanations. Another great way to be effective is to help students engage with the material by using discussions and other activities. Finally, you can help students learn by offering them direct and constructive feedback. When you use these methods, you can adapt them so that they apply to the age group you teach.

1- <b class="whb">Explain learning objectives.</b> Learning objectives help students understand why they are learning the material they are. As the teacher, you already know what you want students to achieve by the end of a lesson or the end of the term. Share that information with your students so you can all be on the same page.<sup id="_ref-1" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 1"></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>For elementary school kids, you might say, “Multiplication is a way for us to add faster. Won't that be great to be able to do math super fast?"</li>
 	<li>Learning objectives for a college course might include, “Students should be able to articulate all of the long-term effects of World War II on the United States by the end of the term.”</li>
</ul>
2- <b class="whb">Provide detailed information on assignments.</b> Help your students succeed by giving them clear guidelines. Don't just say, “Write a paper on World War II.” Instead, state what the paper should analyze, how long it should be, and what types of sources should be used.
<ul>
 	<li>You can use examples to help explain assignments, especially to students who aren't yet proficient in reading. For example, say, “We are going to make a poster of the solar system. You can cut out circles to represent the different planets. See how I've done that here?”</li>
</ul>
3- <b class="whb">Respond promptly to questions.</b> When a student asks a question, it's important to give them a clear and thoughtful answer. Don't brush them off, take a moment to answer them then and there. If a student raises their hand to ask a question during class, take a moment to pause and help them out. Chances are, if someone is confused, other students might be, too.
<ul>
 	<li>For younger kids, you might say, "Sue, that's an interesting question! Thanks for asking. Let's all take a minute to think about that."</li>
 	<li>Set aside time each day to answer emails from your students. Sometimes they might not have realized they have a question until after class is over.</li>
 	<li>Be honest if you don't know the answer. Just say, "That's a great question. I'm not sure of the answer, but I'll look into it and get back to you."</li>
</ul>
4- <b class="whb">Write a thorough syllabus for high school and college students.</b> The syllabus is a great way for you to lay out the course themes, objectives, schedule, and expectations. Before the semester begins, make sure that you put some effort into making your syllabus clear and thorough. Remember to include key components such as:
<ul>
 	<li>Your contact information.</li>
 	<li>Required books or resources.</li>
 	<li>Graded components.</li>
 	<li>Course schedule.</li>
 	<li>Any school policies and procedures.</li>
</ul>
<h1>Helping Students Engage with Material</h1>
1- <b class="whb">Facilitate class discussions with thought-provoking questions.</b> Students can learn a lot from actively participating in class. One way that you can encourage participation is by having constructive class discussions. Ask open-ended questions so that students have to give more than a yes or no answer. Don't ask questions with a set answer in mind. Discussions should help students explore different ideas.<sup id="_ref-2" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 2"></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>Younger kids can start to learn critical thinking by answering questions. You could try, "What are some ways to show kindness?" You'll get lots of different answers!</li>
 	<li>For example, you could ask, “Why is it so important that we take steps to protect the environment?”</li>
 	<li>You could also try, “Do you think the U.S. should get involved in trying to solve problems in other countries? Why or why not?”</li>
</ul>
2- <b class="whb">Try in-class activities.</b> In addition to discussion, you can try lots of other ways to help students get involved in class. Anything that gets the students doing something new for a few minutes is good. You can easily adjust activities according to the subject you teach. For almost any subject, you could try short in-class writing assignments. This will give students a break from listening to you talk and give them some time to learn more actively.
<ul>
 	<li>Say, “Okay, everyone spend 5 minutes writing about what you think the key points of today's topic. When you're done, we'll share our thoughts as a large group.” <sup id="_ref-3" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 3"><a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Effectively#_note-3">[3]</a></sup></li>
 	<li>Ask students to relate the topic to their own lives. For example, “Write a paragraph about what kinds of things your family does to help the environment.”</li>
 	<li>Try Stand Up Sit Down. For example, if you are trying to teach the difference between proper nouns and common nouns, you can have students stand up if the word you say is a proper noun and sit down if it is a common noun. You can apply this to many subjects, including math. Try having students stand up if a number is prime and sit down if it is not.</li>
</ul>
3- <b class="whb">Use activities that require interaction with other students.</b> Working together can help students see material in a new way. It can also make things more fun! In addition to assigning group projects, you can find other creative ways to help students interact with one another.<sup id="_ref-4" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 4"><a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Effectively#_note-4">[4]</a></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>Try Think-Pair-Share. Give students a question, and give them a few minutes to think about their answer. Then, have them pair up and share their answers with each other. Finally, have each pair share their answers with the whole class. This works great with high school and college students.</li>
 	<li>Play a matching game. Hand out a note card with a word or phrase on it and have students get up and find their match. You can do this with rhyming words, synonyms, problems/solutions, or anything that you want! Elementary school kids can have lots of fun with this one.</li>
</ul>
4- <b class="whb">Take a field trip.</b> Getting out of the classroom is a great way to help students connect to material! Field trips are a great way to bring some excitement to the topic you're teaching. Make sure that the field trip clearly relates to what you are teaching. For example, if you've been learning about environmental issues, take students to a self-sustaining farm.<sup id="_ref-5" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 5"><a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Effectively#_note-5">[5]</a></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>If you've been teaching about the solar system, take a trip to a planetarium.</li>
 	<li>Make sure to follow all school policies when you're planning a field trip.</li>
</ul>
5- <b class="whb">Encourage debate if you are teaching high school or college courses.</b> For high school and college students, constructive debates are a great way for students to connect with the material. During discussions, encourage students to share opposing viewpoints. For example, if you are talking about whether or not peaceful protests are constructive, have students clearly explain their viewpoints.<sup id="_ref-6" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 6"></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>Make sure that students remain civil. No name calling, raised voices, or insults! If things start to get heated, wrap up the debate. Say, "We obviously have lots of strong feelings on this. To wrap up, take 5 minutes to write down what you feel are the key points on this issue."</li>
</ul>
<h1>Giving Constructive Feedback</h1>
1- <b class="whb">Tell students what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong.</b> Don't just mark papers and assignments with a grade. Instead, write comments that will help students improve. Write something that they are doing right, such as, “You did a nice job providing specific examples from the readings.<sup id="_ref-7" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 7"></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>If you have a critique, state it clearly. For example, “Make sure to write a clear thesis statement in your introduction.”</li>
 	<li>Try using a feedback sandwich to avoid sounding to harsh. Two positive statements are the "bread" that sandwich a critique. You could write, "Your organization looks great! You could elaborate on the ideas in your conclusion. Overall, your writing is improving."</li>
 	<li>Younger students will benefit from feedback, too. Try telling a kindergartner, "I love how you've been sharing with your friends. Next time, try hanging on to your scissors yourself so that you have plenty of time to work on the project."</li>
</ul>
2- <b class="whb">Provide feedback in a timely manner.</b> Try to return assignments within a week. If you take much longer than that, students might have already moved on from the topic of the assignment. That means they might not pay much attention to feedback.<sup id="_ref-8" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 8"></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>If you see a young child breaking a rule, address it right away. They might have forgotten the incident if you wait until the end of the day.</li>
 	<li>Avoid grading burn out by grading only about 10 papers at a time. Then it's time to give your brain a little break!</li>
</ul>
3- <b class="whb">Give concrete examples to help students understand the issue.</b> Don't just tell students what they've done wrong. Show them how they could do better! For example, you could say, “I understand the chronological approach you've taken in this paper. However, let's look at an outline of a thematic essay. See how that allows you to more clearly connect different themes?<sup id="_ref-9" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 9"></sup>
<ul>
 	<li>You could do the same with a math problem. “Here's an example of how to correctly use this formula. See, X should be used as the first variable in the equation.</li>
</ul>
4- <b class="whb">Offer written and verbal feedback.</b> Written feedback is important for all assignments, projects, and papers. This gives students a chance to refer to your comments when they are doing their next assignment. Remember to make it clear and constructive. Oral feedback is important to use during class, because it gives students instant feedback. It will help them to get a better understanding of how to constructively participate.
<ul>
 	<li>For example, if a student answers a question, you can say something like, “That's a really interesting way to look at it. Thanks for sharing.”<sup id="_ref-10" class="reference" aria-label="Link to Reference 10"><a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Effectively#_note-10">[10]</a></sup></li>
 	<li>You can also give verbal feedback when a student asks for help. If they want to know how they can improve, you can say, “I've noticed a lot of spelling and grammatical issues in your papers. Your points would be much more clear and effective if you would take the time to edit carefully.”</li>
</ul>
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