What is your goal for this course?

1. Set a goal.
2. Assess each area.
3. Identify where you need to take action.
4. Take action.

Goal

When people think of a good teacher they think of one that is nice, encouraging,
trusting, and many other adjectives. Unlike most people, who change their mind on
the career they want, I knew from the start that I wanted to be a teacher. I have many
goals I hope to achieve when I am a teacher for example, making class a fun and
exciting environment for the students and have them look forward to coming to
class. I knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was young because I had a teacher that
I had a close relationship with and made me love school. Ever since I had her as a
teacher I knew that I wanted to be like her and teach like she did. Being a teacher is
something I have always wanted to do and I have many goals I hope to achieve.
Most people change their career decisions multiple times before they actually pick a
final job, but I never had an interest in anything other than being a teacher. I have
always connected with younger kids over high school or middle school children,
which is why I chose this course.
I believe that teachers have the ability not only change the world, but improve it. I
want to become a teacher because seeing that light bulb go off and seeing the looks
on the student’s faces when they get a problem is a great feeling. Many kids are
ignored at home or even bullied at home and I want to make all those children feel
wanted and to know that someone is there for them and truly does care about them. I
want to be a role model to all the children in my class and look up to me. I want my
students to be excited to learn and to look forward to coming to class. As an
Elementary teacher, children that are young need a teacher to shape them into great
people, future lawyers, doctors or what could be in the future. I believe that each
person has something to give to the world. Each child has potential to be something
great, no matter the challenges they face.
Assess Each Area

Student success should be a teacher's number one priority. For some students,
success will be getting a good grade. For others, it might mean increased
involvement in class. You can help all of your students attain their full potential,
regardless of the way they measure success.

Set High Expectations

Cultivate an academic environment in your classroom by setting high, but not
impossible, expectations for your students. Push students to achieve higher
standards and they will eventually get there—and along the way, offer lots of
praise. Some may take more time than others, but all students want to be told,
"You're smart and you're doing a good job." Give high school students college
material to read and tell them, "This story/book/math concept is taught in first-
year colleges around the country." Once the students tackle and master the
material, tell them, "Good job students—I knew you could do it."

Establish a Classroom Routine

One of the key ways to help young children behave at home is to create an
effective and consistent schedule for them to follow. Without this type of
structure, young children often end up misbehaving. Secondary school students
are no different. While classroom procedures often take a bit of time and effort to
implement at the beginning of the school year, once established, they create a
structure that will allow you to focus on teaching rather than handling disruptive
issues.
Classroom management should also become a part of the daily routine. If rules
have been made clear from day one, rules and consequences are posted
throughout the classroom, and you consistently tackle any and all problems as
they arise, students will fall in line and your classroom will run like a well-oiled
machine.
Practice the 'Daily Fives'
Do the same opening activity during the first five minutes of class and the same
closing activity the last five minutes so that students know, "OK, it's time to start
class, or, "It's time to get ready to leave." It could be something as simple as
having students get out their classroom materials and sit at their desks ready to
begin at the start of class and putting away their materials, sitting down and
waiting for the bell to ring at the end of class.
If you are consistent with your daily fives, it will become second nature to your
students. Establishing routines like this will also help when you need to get a
substitute. Students don't like to deviate from the established norms and will
become advocates in your classroom to make sure things run smoothly. 

Bloom's Taxonomy can also help you move students from a basic understanding
of concepts to asking more complex questions like: "What happens if?" Students
need to learn how to go beyond the basic facts: who, what, where and when and
question the world around them. They should be able to explain their answers as
to why they feel a certain way about a concept, posit changes they would make
and explain why. Climbing the Bloom's Taxonomy ladder can help students do
just that.

Vary Your Instruction

When you vary teaching methods, you provide students with a greater
opportunity to learn. Every student has different strengths and weaknesses.
Instead of just focusing on one method that only appeals to a single learning
style, varying your teaching techniques allows you to cater your lessons to
different learning styles. Students will be more successful if they are not bored.
For example, instead of lecturing for an entire 90-minute class, do 30 minutes of
lecture, 30 minutes of work—involving as much music, videos
and kinesthetic movement as possible—and then 30 minutes of discussion.
Students like it when you change things up and they're not doing the exact same
thing every class period.
Show That You Care About Every Student
This might seem obvious, but every year, do a gut check concerning the students
in your class. Are there any students you have written off? Are there students who
are difficult to reach or who just don't seem to care? Students can sense your
feelings about them, so be very careful with your own beliefs.

Regardless of your personal feelings, it is important that you work with each of
your students to ensure their success. Be excited with them. Act like you want to
be at work and you're happy to be there and see them. Find out what their
hobbies are, take an interest in their personal lives and try to incorporate some of
that into your lessons.
Be Transparent and Ready to Help
How to succeed in your class should be easy for all students to understand.
Provide students with a syllabus at the beginning of the year that explains your
grading policies. If you assign a complicated or subjective assignment such as an
essay or a research paper, give students a copy of your rubric beforehand. If
students participate in science labs, ensure that they understand exactly how you
will be grading their participation and their work.

For example, if you just toss a C- on an essay but you haven't edited it or
explained why the student got that grade, your student has no buy-in and will
likely put little effort into the next assignment. Make students check their grades
frequently, or provide them with printouts so they're constantly aware of where
they stand in your class. If they've fallen behind, meet with them and create a
plan to usher them toward success.

Identify where you need to take action.

The best teachers are capable of maximizing the learning potential of each
student in their class. They understand that the key to unlocking student
potential is by developing positive, respectful relationships with their students
beginning on the first day of the school year. Building a trusting relationship with
your students can be both challenging and time-consuming. Great
teachers become masters at it in time. They will tell you that developing solid
relationships with your students is paramount in fostering academic success.
It is essential that you earn your students’ trust early on in the year. A trusting
classroom with mutual respect is a thriving classroom complete with active,
engaging learning opportunities. Some teachers are more natural at building and
sustaining positive relationships with their students than others. However, most
teachers can overcome a deficiency in this area by implementing a few simple
strategies into their classroom on a daily basis.
Teach With Enthusiasm and Passion 
Students will respond positively when a teacher is enthusiastic and passionate
about the content she is teaching. Excitement is contagious. When a teacher
introduces new content enthusiastically, students will buy in. They will get just as
excited as the teacher, thus translating to increased learning. Exuberance will rub
off on the students in your classroom when you are passionate about the content
you teach. If you are not excited, why should your students be excited?
Have a Positive Attitude
Everyone has terrible days including teachers. Everyone goes through personal
trials that can be difficult to handle. It is essential that your personal issues do
not interfere with your ability to teach. Teachers should approach their class each
day with a positive attitude. Positivity is transcending.

If the teacher is positive, the students will generally be positive. No one likes to be
around someone who is always negative. Students will in time resent a teacher
who is always negative. However, they will run through a wall for a teacher is
positive and continuously offering praise.

Incorporate Humor into Lessons

Teaching and learning should not be boring. Most people love to laugh. Teachers
should incorporate humor into their daily lessons. This may involve sharing an
appropriate joke related to the content you will be teaching that day. It may be
getting into character and donning a silly costume for a lesson. It may be
laughing at yourself when you make a silly mistake. Humor comes in several
forms and students will respond to it. They will enjoy coming to your class
because they love to laugh and learn.

Make Learning Fun

Learning should be fun and exciting. Nobody wants to spend time in a classroom
where lecturing and note-taking are the norms. Students love creative, engaging
lessons that grab their attention and allow them to take ownership of the learning
process. Students enjoy hands-on, kinesthetic learning activities where they can
learn by doing. They are enthusiastic about technology-based lessons that are
both active and visual.

Use Student Interests to Your Advantage

Every student has a passion for something. Teachers should use these interests
and passions to their advantage by incorporating them into their lessons. Student
surveys are a fantastic way to measure these interests. Once you know what your
class is interested in, you have to find creative ways to integrate it into your
lessons. Teachers who take the time to do this will see increased participation,
higher involvement and an overall increase in learning. Students will appreciate
the extra effort you have made to include their interest in the learning process.

Incorporate Story Telling into Lessons 

Everyone loves a compelling story. Stories allow students to make real-life
connections to the concepts that they are learning. Telling stories to introduce or
reinforce concepts bring those concepts to life. It takes the monotony out of
learning rote facts. It keeps students interested in learning. It is especially
powerful when you can tell a personal story related to a concept being taught. A
good story will allow students to make connections that they may not have made
otherwise.
Show an Interest in Their Lives Outside of School
Your students have lives away from your classroom. Talk to them about their
interests and extracurricular activities that they participate in. Take an interest in
their interests even if you do not share the same passion. Attend a few ball games
or extracurricular activities to show your support. Encourage your students to
take their passions and interests and turn them into a career. Finally, be
considerate when assigning homework. Think about the extracurricular activities
occurring on that particular day and try not to overburden your students.
Treat Them With Respect
Your students will never respect you if you do not respect them. You should never
yell, use sarcasm, single a student out, or attempt to embarrass them. Those
things will lead to a loss of respect from the entire class. Teachers should handle
situations professionally. You should deal with problems individually, in a
respectful, yet direct and authoritative manner. Teachers must treat each student
the same. You cannot play favorites. The same set of rules must apply to all
students. It is also vital that a teacher is fair and consistent when dealing with
students.

Go the Extra Mile

Some students need teachers who will go that extra mile to ensure that they are
successful. Some teachers provide extra tutoring on their own time before and/or
after school for struggling students. They put together extra work packets,
communicate with parents more frequently and take a genuine interest in the
well-being of the student. Going the extra mile may mean donating clothing,
shoes, food or other household goods that a family needs to survive. It may be
continuing to work with a student even after he is no longer in your classroom. It
is about recognizing and assisting in meeting student needs inside and outside of
the classroom
In order for my future student to become more interesting when it comes to
teaching in different subject area, for them to caught their attention I will
. For example, when you teach some new words use flashcards and get all of the kids to
listen to you and say the words clearly with associated noises (for the Visual and
Auditory learners), then have the students run around acting out the words (for the
Kinesthetic learners), next do a feel in the bag activity to guess the objects and then
have your students do a drawing activity (for the Tactile learners), after that have your
students in teams make models of the objects with play do with a prize for the best
team (for the Global learners) and finally have a worksheet activity where students
need do matching or guessing activities (for the Analytic learners – be sure to clearly
explain how to do the task).

Finally, if you are able to identify the type of learners you have in your class you can
adapt your lesson on the spot if you see some are having trouble understanding or
losing interest.  For example, if a student is looking puzzled at your big / small
presentation, have him or her stand up big or curl up small, make a big play-doh ball
and small ball, color in a worksheet with big and small objects, etc.

Having a wide variety of styles included in your lesson will really help your students
understand, internalize and enjoy your lessons.