5 things a ‘new’ teacher should remember

4-set-clear-expectationsCongratulations! You’ve made it through uni, got yourself a job in a great school and you’re ready to change the world! Here are five things to remember:

1. Latch onto the best teacher in the school – don’t worry about knowing who that might be, the kids will tell you – learn from her, watch her teach, watch him interact with his colleagues, watch her when she goes out on yard duty, speak with him often, ask her plenty of questions, share your ideas with him, learn from her.

2. Get to know ALL your students as learners. Find out what they know, how they like to learn, how they feel, ask them questions and allow them to do the same. Be aware of those students with special needs, especially those who are not funded.

3. Create a positive classroom environment in which the students feel safe in taking learning risks, having fun and developing to their full potential.

4. There are 5 tips I suggest you try as the first step in building a relationship with your students.

5. Always, always make every effort to return work to students by the next class, with plenty of feedback in regard to what they did well and what needs to improve for next time and HOW to go about it. Therefore if you have multiple classes of same subject and year level, make sure you stagger the assessment tasks and remember that not all assessment need be formal – watching, listening and recording your observations in your diary or planner is also useful.

So, prepare, prepare, prepare and remember that if you’re not enjoying the class, neither are they. I wish you well, let me know how it goes, feel free to comment below or contact me if you would like to learn more.

Thanks for reading 🙂

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2 thoughts on “5 things a ‘new’ teacher should remember

  1. How true this is and very useful advice for any new teacher.
    It can be just as beneficial for a teacher who has been in the profession for a long time too. How good would it be if EVERYONE in a school followed these 5 things!

    Good reading again, Jo.

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