The “Ten Commandments” of Effective Teaching* *and we are ALL teachers Rick Albrecht, Ph.D. Department of Movement Science Grand Valley State University Copyright  Dr. Rick Albrecht., 2003

Ten Commandments of Teaching Motivate Yourself First If you can’t motivate yourself -- how can you ever expect to motivate others? Motivation is contagious Your learners will take their cues from you Develop a TGIM attitude If you don’t LOVE what you do … go do what you LOVE

Ten Commandments of Teaching Understand The Importance of Your Role as a Teacher You are very often the most important person in the lives of your learners Your influence (positive or negative) will stay with your learners for a lifetime (and beyond) They will “pass along” what you’ve given to them (positive or negative) to the next generation -- you will always serve as their model

Understand The Importance of Your Role as a Teacher Our society has determined you have the necessary skills and abilities to take on perhaps the most important job it has … to pass its culture and knowledge on to our next generation Think of the numbers of people you will directly and indirectly influence …

Here’s an Example of The Impact You Can Have … I have approximately 150 “new” students each year at GVSU… If I teach for 20 years = 3,000 students If they each have 50 students a year, my students and I, impact 150,000 students even if each of them teaches for only one year If they each teach for 20 years my students and I will have combined to influence over 3,000,000 STUDENTS!

Ten Commandments of Teaching Totally Commit Yourself to the Notion That the Desire to LEARN is an Innate Human Characteristic… All people are motivated to learn All people are motivated to become proficient and competent at the things they do It’s your job to maintain this natural motivation and excitement your students have for learning “First, Do No Harm” (Hippocratic Oath)

Ten Commandments of Teaching Remember That “Teaching” Can Not Occur in the Absence of “Learning” If no learning takes place -- then no teaching has taken place If your students haven’t learned -- you haven’t taught (don’t blame your students) If you haven’t taught -- what are you there for?

Ten Commandments of Teaching Remember That the Most Important Characteristic of a Good Teacher is a Caring, Enthusiastic, Respectful, Attitude Toward All Learners… Certainly we have to be competent -- but if you really CARE about your learners, you will be committed to becoming -- and remaining competent Learners will be very forgiving of your mistakes -- As long as they know you care and are trying your best to help them

Ten Commandments of Teaching Make Sure Your Students Know “Why” You Do The Things You (and they) Do Most teachers have a very good reason for doing the things they do (content areas, exercises, assignments, tests, etc.) The problem is, most teachers don’t let the students in on this “little secret” If your students don’t understand why they are doing things they won’t see the importance of your learning activities

Make Sure Your Students Know “Why” They Are Doing Things Encourage your students to ask you why they are doing things … Don’t be afraid of their questions … If you’re afraid you can’t give them a good answer, maybe you don’t have one … This helps show you where you need to “rethink” what you’re doing

Ten Commandments of Teaching Make Sure You Are Teaching In A Way That Is Truly Relevant To The Needs And Interests of Your Students Know your students Their interests Their skills Their ambitions Always let your student know how they can apply what they’re learning to the “real world”

Ten Commandments of Teaching Continually Remind Yourself That EVERYTHING You Do Should Enhance LEARNING! Don’t get caught up in “grades” or “outcomes” at the expense of learning Don’t worry too much about “sticking to the schedule”, “covering the material”, or “adhering to rules and regulations” -- sometimes you have to spend more time than you thought in order to make sure the material is learned… Remember that’s the ultimate goal

Ten Commandments of Teaching Continually Engage in the Practice of “Reflective” Teaching Fight against the natural tendency to do things out of habit Fight against the natural tendency to do things the way your own teachers/coaches did things Always try to improve what you’re doing-- Challenge yourself as much as your students! What went well? ... What did not go well?… Is there a better way to help the students learn?

Ten Commandments of Teaching Always Make Sure You -- And Your Learners Are Having Fun When you’re having fun, obstacles are seen as challenges -- not as threats It’s your job, as a teacher, to show your students that learning can -- and should -- be fun Frankly, life is just too short to spend time doing things you don’t enjoy

Ten Commandments of Teaching Don’t Mistake “Difficulty” for “Rigor” “Rigor” is a reflection of the standards or outcomes you demand of yourself and your students “Difficulty” describes the process by which these standards or outcomes are attained The best teachers demand the highest levels of rigor but constantly attempt to minimize the difficulty associated with the teaching-learning process

Ten Commandments of Teaching Motivate Yourself First Understand The Importance of Your Role as a Teacher Totally Commit Yourself to the Notion That the Desire to LEARN is an Innate Human Characteristic Remember That “Teaching” Cannot Occur in the Absence of “Learning”

Ten Commandments of Teaching Remember That the Most Important Characteristic of a Good Teacher is a Caring, Enthusiastic, Respectful, Attitude Toward All Learners Make Sure Your Students Know “Why” You Do The Things You (and they) Do Make Sure You Are Teaching In A Way That Is Truly Relevant To The Needs And Interests of Your Students

Ten Commandments of Teaching Continually Remind Yourself That EVERYTHING You Do Should Enhance LEARNING! Continually Engage in the Practice of “Reflective” Teaching Always Make Sure You -- And Your Learners -- Are Having Fun