Today we explore extra education resources, with a focus on Rookie Teacher. Successful teachers break out of the box: It may be a self-made box. “Oh I could never do that,” you say to yourself. Perhaps you promised you’d never become the teacher who would let students grade each other (maybe you had a bad experience as a kid). Sometimes the biggest obstacle to growth is us. Have you built a box around your teaching methods? Good teachers know when it’s time to break out of it. Successful teachers are masters of their subject: Good teachers need to know their craft. In addition to the methodology of “teaching”, you need to master your subject area. Learn, learn, and never stop learning. Successful educators stay curious.
Reflect. John Dewey once said, “We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience.” Be honest with yourself. Be mindful and make changes in the future. You can model the reflective process for your students as well. Teach them to evaluate. Breathe. Give yourself time. Cut yourself a break. Ask for help. Not everything will go as planned. Tap into your colleagues. Use the resources available to you. Be realistic. Be forgiving. See more info on Teacher Guides.
Learning is not only for young people. Indeed, getting some simple training in using computers, tablets, and smartphones can help seniors to stay connected with their families, friends, and communities. This is especially important for seniors who wish to live independently and age at home. If you want to learn the basics or just brush up on your digital know-how we can give you pointers on how to become a tech-savvy senior in no time.
Be mindful of the word choice you’re using. The new words the Internet has created in our dictionary might not make sense to someone who barely uses a computer. Instead, ask them what they already know about technology so you can use analogies to what they’re already familiar with. A good website for senior learning is http://seniortechtutorials.com/.
Music teaching is hot this days, many people try to learn music, for various reasons. There are a few podcasts that focuses on teaching people about music and one of them is The Music Educator by Bill Stevens. Make a long-term lesson plan that incorporates games. Divide your students into teams and award a few points in each lesson. Depending on the class and their projects you could award a point to the best student in each lesson. You could give points for correct answers and even for a positive attitude. Decide on a monthly and yearly prize for the winning team. This works especially well with younger children. But even teenagers can enjoy a competition if the prize is attractive. Being able to compete in a healthy and cheerful manner is a valuable skill for students to learn. It combines well with collaborative activities. But, it is important to make sure that no student feels left out when using a competition as part of your teaching. Keep track of prize winners and try to award a range of prizes so that every student has a good chance of winning at least once.
Advice of the day for music teachers : Meet with Student Leaders: Another great way to start the new school year is to meet with the student leaders of the upcoming class. This meeting can be either formal or informal, but either way the goal is to establish a positive relationship with the student body. Feel free to share ideas with the student leaders, or even brainstorm fun classroom activities.
You can listen to the The Music Educator podcast by using the app from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.themusiceducatorpodcast.android.music. You can learn more about Bill Steven by visiting his website at https://www.4themusiceducator.com/.