Micro-Changes To Make Teaching-Learning Effective

It has been over seven years since I left classroom teaching, moving to a different expanse of education and training. Retreating the classroom teaching did not end the love I had for the students and the vibrancy of a class. Through educational training, events and conferences, my association with education and its practices continued.

The desire to change the learning spaces requires a lot of effort and commitment. I recall the time we had not heard of teaching “pedagogy”. Such fancy words did not exist in the teacher’s diary. Neither did we enjoy the luxury of better infrastructure or state-of-the-art technology. Yet, even those years, we understood the importance of coaching the teachers to be better instructors. But, the pressure of completing the curriculum, maintaining the scores of students, the deadlines of projects at hand, the stress of exams, preparation of results – the burden of administrative work overpowered the soul of the educator, sometimes even killing it. Monotony set in and I found myself struggling with the boredom of it all. It made me ponder on the fretfulness of the students, who were subject to this class after class. No wonder, the attention span was limited, the student participation negligible and class management difficult. Sadly, not much has changed even today in terms of the workload of teachers, where they get busy with bureaucratic work more than instructing itself. So following the conformed practices of teaching becomes the norm in many schools even today.

Often we attempt to make macro changes to make learning experience better for students and teachers. Most of such macro efforts either are stalled due to lack of funds with schools or resistance to "unlearn" the obsolete ways of imparting knowledge. Over the years, and through my own involvement, I realized that minor changes were all that it took to bring life back into the classroom. Enhanced outcomes are realized if issues are handled at micro level itself. Below I am sharing some of my own applied solutions in that one classroom allotted, which made all the difference required for better learning outcomes. I hope it might help other educators too:

1.      Step Out: There is so much study done on how improving the learning spaces can lead to better learning outcomes. But if you belong an institution where infrastructure is not as developed as the modern schools of today, don’t lose heart. Just step out of the four walls of the classroom and gather the students to learn in open environment. Believe me you will see instant change in the way students’ excitement level goes up and learning becomes better and effective. Of course you will have to lay down the rules of engagement first.

2.      Change the class room layout: In case you are unable to step out, a simple change in the layout of the classroom is all it takes to make learning better. Those straight rows of table-chairs might bring order in the class, but often lead to ineffective teaching, especially as it descends on the last student in the row. There are enough tales of 'back-benchers'. The lack of attention on them leads to lack of interest in the subject taught. Often teachers tend to associate interest with the placement of a student in a class. In many schools, the process of rotation takes place. But I often felt it was not really effective. So used a different technique. Instead, I tried a broad U-shape or group seating. It made learning so much better as it brought all students closer. Try it once. You will realize that your engagement with the students becomes better and their interaction restored. Anything different to make it interesting, isn't it?!

3.      Reduce the time: It is well known fact that a class time of 40 minutes becomes uninteresting after the very first 15 minutes are over (unless it is activity based learning). So divide the time between monologue-style of imparting knowledge and interactive open discussions or activity. In fact, sometimes it is okay to not teach from the book but pick up any real life incident to explain the subject. Bring the world closer. Think out of the box to make a topic interesting. Don’t expect your students to be able to think out of the box or be creative if you as an educator cannot do it. Plan your class a day prior – that’s what lesson plans are for ! The more you make the curriculum interesting with practical learning, the better will be learning outcome.

4.      Be student centric: The whole purpose of teacher training is to make them better instructors. But somewhere during the imparting of this training, we make it more about teachers than about student learning. It is more about how teachers teach rather than how well the students learn. It is the students who make any teacher popular for the unique methodology used to impart knowledge. As John Dewey said,” If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow”. Change your methods every year and re-imagine, re-create the methods of teaching for better learning.

5.      Self-Assessment:  It is very important for teachers to self-assess their skills. The bright students grasp subjects fast. It is those who struggle that need your attention. There is a link between poor learning and weak/uninterested teachers. If an educator is able to ensure that every single student in the class has grasped the topic discussed, she is a winner. So create a culture of student centric learning, which is certainly not just about completing the curriculum at the end of the academic year or a good result. How profound the learning was is significant. Often teachers discourage questions from students, making it a one-way learning session. It could be out of fear of being challenged by the student or the pressure of completing syllabus. But it does not make you a better teacher. It is okay to accept that even you do not know everything. Use that opportunity to encourage students to research for answers, instead of discouraging their inquisitiveness.

6.      Be Supportive: Everyone needs support and understanding. The connection with one’s teacher is often the most genuine. Be that teacher, whom a child remembers for the right reasons. I had my own share of naughty students in the class, who frequently were asked by other teachers to leave the class or stand outside the class. With every teacher walking in that corridor, the shame of the student was apparent. A few had become immune to it all. I often wondered if this was a good method at all to make them understand the importance of class discipline. So I had to devise innovative methods without hurting their sense of pride. Most common was the use of interesting positive adjectives for such students, most popular being “Are you the Outstanding student(s) of the day ?”. The smile on my face made them understand the message conveyed, without usage of angry tones. They now wanted to 'excel' and not be 'outstanding'. Classroom management made effective with fun added to it. It is said that 'Tongue is the sharpest weapon on Earth'. A student might forget what you said but will never forget how you made them feel. Demeaning a student does not make them learn better. You need to give respect to a student to get it yourself. Every child can improve, if we stop stigmatizing them.

So put on your imagination caps and organize internal educational and training events in your school itself. You just might learn more from your colleague than from a training workshops.