I recently overhead someone say, 'I can talk, I know how to teach!'
As you can imagine this infuriated me somewhat as it seemed to perpetuate the idea that teaching is easy. My frustration with this point of view started when a series called 'Jamie's Dream School' aired in 2011. The show was set up with the premise that a group of previously failing teenagers would be taught by experts in an attempt to inspire them to give education another go. It had teachers such as David Starkey and Cherie Blair teaching students their specialist subjects, some were more successful than others. This irritated me as it seemed to suggest that teaching is a skill which anyone with passion for their subject can do without formal training or development; often perpetuated by headteachers who believe that they need graduates with a first in order to be successful.
Whilst subject knowledge, a good level of education and a passion for subject is undoubtedly important for success within teaching |I do not believe that those skills alone are what you need to excel in this arena. Demonstrated, rather painfully, by David Starkey in the aforementioned show when he got into a rather embarrassing argument with a student during a lesson, resulting in him having to make a public apology to the student.
For me, great teaching is when students are learning. It may seem obvious but if the focus is on me, what I am saying and doing rather than the pupils then how can I know that they are taking in and understanding the topics we are covering? There was a noticeable shift in the most recent Ofsted framework to looking at progress over time. This was in reflection of the change in school achievement measures but also in recognition of that fact that just because you walk into a lesson where students are 'busy, happy and good' does not mean that learning is going on.
A prime example was in a lesson I observed a few weeks ago. It was a miserable day and I really felt for the teacher I was watching as it was not the kind of weather you would want to be observed in. The students being taught were great- they listened, answered questions and completed all of the tasks which had been set for them. However there was limited evidence that the students had actually learned much- they were going through the motions but when the drills turned into the inevitable game at the end there was not much to show that they could put into practice what they had spent the last 30 minutes practicing in drills. Perhaps it is unfair of me to use a student teacher as an example, particularly as given their experience and the fact that they were desperate to keep to the lesson plan as I was there to watch. However it is a common misconception that if you walk into a lesson where students are completing an activity, running through a drill or the teacher is busy talking there *must* be learning going on.
At this point I could launch into a long speech about assessment and its importance in ensuring that our students learn, however I believe it can be made simpler than that. The secret to ensuring that your students (whatever their age) are learning is very easy- get to know them then use your knowledge of teaching methods to engage them in the topic you want to teach.
If you really know your students you will be able to see the glazed over look in their eyes when they are somewhere else rather than listening to you, you'll also be able to spot the difference between tapping away making notes and doing something much less constructive on their laptop. You'll also know them well enough to see when a task is too easy, or too hard and to realise when things need to change because it's just not working. Too often teachers and academics overlook this important factor in developing effective learning, or don't have the time to cultivate these relationships which are so important within student development.
So- the secret to teaching anyone anything? Spend time getting to know your students and the possibilities are endless!
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