Please click on the link below to see his article titled 'How to teach well and motivate students?'
This article is not focusing on the methods of teaching dance or any other particular subject but instead is focusing on the styles, skills and methods necessary for a teacher to gain motivation in a classroom, these styles, skills and methods being transferable to all subjects.
One of the hardest things I come up against in teaching is inspiring motivation, especially in a teenage class. For this reason the core of my inquiry is based on finding out the methods that teachers find most effective. I would also like to discover how these methods can be used alongside disciplinary methods to maintain order within a classroom.
One of the first things Professor M.S.Rao writes about in his introduction is the passion of the teacher.
It requires passion to teach students. Having mere knowledge to impart is not enough. What is needed is the ability to understand the role of teacher, the styles of teaching, teaching methodologies and strategies, correct usage of evaluation techniques, the psychology of the students and the ability to motivate the students.
He then later writes about the importance of realising that teaching is a constant learning process:
Teaching is a skill not a talent. Anybody and everybody can cultivate this skill.
I find this very interesting and very inspiring for me as a teacher. A lot of my friends who are professional dancers will say that they don't think teaching is for them, that they wouldn't enjoy it or that they think they wouldn't be good at it. Luckily, I have always had a passion for teaching and I believe now that this is the fundamental core and if somebody has this passion then they are immediately halfway there to becoming a good teacher. If the passion is lacking or not present at all then there is no desire to learn the skills necessary to teach and without passion there is no inspiration for the students.
I also like the fact he writes that anyone (with the passion) can cultivate this skill. Therefore, whatever discoveries I find while researching and carrying out my line of inquiry will be a part of my learning process and develop me as a teacher, adding new skills that I can use in the classroom.
A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.
~Horace Mann
I found the whole article very informative and one of the points that stood out to me as I had never considered it before in a classroom situation is the amount of difference it can make on a students learning process depending on what they hear, what they see and what they do.
It is aptly said, “People remember 20% of what they hear, 30% of what they see, 50% of what they hear and see and 80% of what they hear, see and do”.
Thinking about it now, I have always been aware that when I am stood talking to the class but not actually showing anything I find it difficult to maintain their focus and I can see their attention drift. On the other hand, when I am demonstrating an exercise while at the same time talking through the exercise, expectations, common faults and the counting, etc, it seems that the class pay more attention and suddenly capturing their interest has provided me with more control as a teacher.
Reading and learning about the difference it makes on the learning process in percentage terms has allowed me to make that connection and so hopefully in the future I will aim to demonstrate through speech plus action to enable the student to gain a 50% informational intake rather than just a 20%.
I believe this piece of literature is of great significance for me in my line of inquiry as it stresses the importance of finding out what students want in order to inspire and motivate them. How can a teacher hope to inspire and motivate if they haven't put the effort in to understanding their students?
The article states that teachers need to be warm, friendly and sympathetic towards a student, be able to emphasise with a student, be able to listen, provide encouragement and praise, which to me, are all attributes that bring us back to the ethical standards and the importance of being moral as a teacher.
Read more: http://profmsr.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-to-teach-well-and-motivate-students.html#ixzz2kuVM8rj3
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