According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to be effective means to produce “a decided, decisive, or desired effect.” As a science teacher (or any teacher), our “desired effect” should be to engage our students in what they are learning, inspire them to learn more, and make them masters of that which they are learning. On a scale of 1 to 10, how effective are you? Are you a number 1, 2...9 but want to be a 10? You can follow these 7 steps to become an effective science teacher.
Step 1 to Become an Effective Science Teacher
Plan investigations, inquiry, or discovery activities for your students. This will increase their engagement and retention of information. Try using a real-world phenomenon and cultural connections. For example, instead of lecturing about phases of matter and the changes that can happen, why not let them investigate the fact that clouds have flat bottoms? I use these Phases Changes Discovery Docs.
Step 2
Collaborate with teachers of the same subject. I used to think that I could do it better by myself. But after having a co-teacher for 9 years and a student-teacher for many years, I've realized this is not so. Two minds (or more) work better than one. It's as simple as this...
You: "I'm going to teach ___ by ___."
Co-worker: "I like that! What about adding ___."
You: "That's great! We could ___, too."
Co-worker: "Great! I will do ___ and you can do ___."
Conversation time = 10 minutes
Time saved in lesson prep = half of your planning period
Student engagement and observation from administrator = priceless
Step 3 to Become an Effective Science Teacher
Use your resources. When you don't have an idea, simply search for one. I suggest starting with Google, TpT, Pinterest, or Instagram. Let's suppose you need to teach about cell organelles. All you have to do is head over to your desired platform and type in "cell organelles". Get ideas and resources for teaching the topic. You don't have to reinvent the wheel.
Step 4
When all else fails, let them design their own assignment. I like to give the students a few traditional options like make a poster, write a creative story, draw a picture, etc. The final option I give them is to design their own. If you've never tried this, you should give it a try. You would be amazed at what creative ideas they can come up with to show you what they know.
Step 5 to Become an Effective Science Teacher
When you need to give directions to your students, use a presentation instead of taking the time to type up a handout or worksheet. If you have ever created a printable for an activity or an assessment, you know it can take some time (and time is not something that we have a lot of). Try typing up directions on a PowerPoint slide or Google Slide (or whatever you use for your presentations). Sometimes it can take seconds compared to hours.
Step 6
Let them help. If you have not already, face it! There's not enough time in the day to do all of the things that we, as teachers, are challenged to do. Your students can help. Let them cut the task cards. Let them pass back papers. Let them make the presentation. Let them make the worksheet. Let them file the papers. Let them write the essential questions and the standards. Let them analyze the data. There is so much they can do and are willing to do if we allow them to do it. Classroom jobs are a must!
Step 7 to Become an Effective Science Teacher
Make assessments easy to assess. Without going into too much detail, sometimes when it comes to the assessment department, we make things harder on ourselves. If you have a pile of papers to grade already, it would make more sense to give a multiple-choice or true or false assessment than an essay. Assign something that you can grade quickly! Assigning a maze or a puzzle for assessment can help.
In conclusion, are these 7 simple steps going to make you the teacher of the year? Possibly! The bottom line is however, if we save time and energy, we can become a more effective science (or any) teacher. What makes you an effective one?
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