As a teacher you probably have a whole host of advice being tossed your way during the course of your career. Non-teachers seem to be the biggest culprits as they tell you how they think you should do your job. All you can do is smile politely as they give you their two cents worth and make classic generalizations about the job you love. It is important however not to ignore all the advice that comes your way, especially that which comes from more experienced teachers. No teacher knows everything about the profession when they start but you will learn things as you get more experienced and it never hurts to keep your ears open when good advice does come your way.

One of the best methods of teaching in order to maximize the impact of your lessons is to divide all sections into small, easily digestible chunks for your students to devour. Throwing too much information at them is not conducive for easy learning. Also, you should never assess your students on the basis of one or two exams or assignments. Try and give them constant assignments so you will easily be able to identify which students are hard working and which are slacking off. Those who are not doing the requisite work will quickly realize that they cannot have their own way.

Don’t deliver your lectures from a static position. You don’t have to be a jack in the box but teachers that move around will increase the attention span of students. This movement should include frequent trips towards the back of the class which should keep those who think they can get some shut-eye back there on their toes! You should occasionally stop at a random student’s desk and make eye contact with them before asking if they understand what you’re saying. Students who have a propensity to doodle or pass notes will suddenly realize that they do this no longer. It is also much better for a student to have their teacher close to them rather than way off into the distance.

You don’t need an array of additional tools at your disposal to make an interesting class but do try and include other ways of communicating with your students besides your voice and the blackboard. Try using a projector with powerpoint slides or else a video could be utilized to help illustrate your points. This is part of making your class fun and should be accentuated by you laughing and smiling throughout. This will make you seem like the kind of person that students are willing to listen to rather than some ogre who growls at them all the time.

So pay no attention to the teaching expert who has never set foot in a classroom as the sole focus of attention and actively seek advice of those who know what it’s like to stand in front of a group of children and be expected to deliver interesting, informative lessons. Finding out new ways to teach can be fun and rewarding for both you and your class.