How to start 2022 the right way (in your classroom)
Although everyone is looking forward to a break from marking, meetings, and teaching in general, the Christmas break is the perfect opportunity to set New Year’s resolutions for the New Year. Below are some tips for teachers to remember.
The beginning of the new year is predominantly taken up by developing rules within the classroom. However, arriving back to school after a long, winter half-term is a chance to restore good habits to encourage students and help them get back on track. This can be done by reviewing not only behavioral but academic expectations that remind them of the final goal that is succeeding in exams. This disciplinary action should be taken in order to help everyone shift their focus of Christmas, onto the remaining months of the school year. Well-behaved students should be rewarded. This is because of three things. One is to maintain the motivation of the well-behaved students. If they are rewarded, they will maintain, if not better their high-standard behavior and academic success. The second reason is to ensure that every student is aware of your expectations. The well-behaved ones will possess the understanding that what they are doing is good, and the not-so-well-behaved students will understand that their behavior and academic effort needs improving.
Encouraging healthy study habits will get the students to refocus on their academics in the New Year. These include habits such as completing homework and assignments on time, active reading, effective note-taking, and revising. Completing homework promptly prevents last-minute e-mails at 2 am from the student, which clearly holds the student back on not only their sleep schedule but their academics, as it puts them in an unhealthy routine. Active reading is essential. Going over notes 48 hours or less after they receive the information during lesson time is key. These two out of the many examples need to be presented to the students, so they acknowledge the importance of the habits, and subsequently take action.
A technique and new habit for yourself is reviewing your lessons. A teacher’s lessons aren’t always perfect, and so keeping a journal that contains what worked and what didn’t work for your lessons, allows you to improve them. Receiving feedback from the students such as the certain techniques you used, or the certain teaching style you used, is also beneficial. You’re able to familiarize yourself with each student’s preferred learning style and their needs, and in extension, this allows you to adjust your sessions. You can use our traffic light feature on our latest version to aid with gaining information from students.
Don’t overwhelm the students
Having a break from exam stress, the students may struggle to immediately adjust to the environment. This is normal, and we need to express this to the students. Cats need at least two to three weeks before adjusting to a new home, and we are the same. Bombarding them with content off the bat will do nothing but harm for them. Their stress levels will dramatically increase and their academic success will stunt or decline. Instead, slowly adjusting to the classroom rules and expectations will enable the students to pay more attention.
By any means enjoy the Christmas break, but keep in mind the drawbacks it can have if you leave it too late. It allows your students to get into the wrong routines that put their education at risk. These new year resolutions are significant in changing bad habits amongst students. If they’re not carried out, it can negatively impact your student’s behavior.