TEACH FOR SUCCESS

Nothing is more important than helping students succeed in the learning environment.  As a teacher, you can maximize the potential for this success by increasing students’ confidence little by little, day-by-day.  As a result, you can foster the enthusiasm for learning.  In every possible way, we need to motivate success and the desire for learning.  Nothing is more exciting than educational experiences that promote the “I can do it,” attitude.  Providing students with the confidence to succeed is what teaching is all about. 

 Education is one of the most challenging professions today. For new teachers to develop into truly good teachers and experienced teachers to remain good teachers, they need to assume the responsibility of a life-long learner. This means there is a need to continually acquire new information through staff development and collaboration with other teachers on a regular basis.  All new teachers should spend a portion of their day in the faculty room, sharing information, exchanging ideas, and learning about each other personally and professionally. It is important not to isolate yourself from the teaching faculty and environment.  Regardless of how teachers are prepared, teachers will require continual professional development and training to optimize student performance and make teaching more effective and rewarding.

I wrote this book as a resource for increasing your success as a teacher, thus, making the educational experience more satisfying and more rewarding.  From my experiences with learning and behaviorally challenged students, my dedication for helping students succeed is a passion that will always be with me.

These practical, ready-to-use strategies and techniques have been proven successful in my own classroom experiences.  In addition, effective strategies have been selected from a variety of my favorite educational resources.

This book can be read in a relatively very short time.  It is intended to be a resource for identifying strategies that work. Make this a multisensory experience. Recite, take notes, highlight, underline, and utilize the notebook pages for your own personal note taking. Checkboxes are included with each strategy and you are encouraged to check the ones you find useful to put into action. Jot down your thoughts, feelings, and any information that is worthwhile.  You will be amazed how helpful your notes can be for future educational assignments and experiences. 

As you read this book, consider how you can work more efficiently with learning differences.  Make a personal commitment to discover, explore, and experiment in a variety of ways.  Use techniques, strategies, and behavior modifications that compliment learning.   Effective techniques contribute to the continuous improvement of educational leadership, student success, as well as enhanced positive relationships with others around you.  You will see a difference in your work with students, your co-educators, and ultimately, in your own personal success in the classroom.

Characteristics of Effective Teaching: Practical Strategies and Techniques in the Classroom.

Today more than ever, there is a population of students with diverse learning needs. No longer can a teacher teach to the group, one must teach to the individual. To ensure an effective educational environment for all students, individual learning differences need to be accounted for and instruction needs to be adapted to reach learners with varying levels of ability.  This does not mean you have to change a total curriculum to accommodate all students, but simply implement a variety of proven strategies and techniques, such as those outlined in this book.  The best news is that when you find strategies that work with students with learning difficulties, you may also observe that they are effective with other students as well.  It does not only benefit students with learning differences, but all students. And an important note to mention to new teachers, the first years of teaching are the most challenging.  New teachers are sometimes assigned to the least desirable classrooms, are required to prepare multiple subjects, or assigned to the most challenging group of students.  The learning environment you create, the adaptation of a flexible curriculum, and the behavioral methods you use to teach will surely affect how successful your students will be in the classroom. 

Chapter 1

Structure and Organization

Johnny is characterized as a student who does not possess good study habits, such as poor listening, inattention, and dependency on others to complete assignments.  He wastes time, is easily distracted by other students, and talks too much in class.  He rarely completes class work and homework assignments.  It is apparent that Johnny has the potential to do average work, but tests grades are barely passing.