Essential Teaching Strategies:
Teach From Your Core
There are many effective teaching strategies you use for teaching curriculum. One essential strategy you can use when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed by new initiatives or new information is to do what athletes do - go to your CORE. When dancers or athletes become off balance, or experience a weakness while performing, they go to their core - the center of their body where they are strongest.
Educators can take a lesson from this. You have a core also - that center of knowledge that you gained in college, as well as what you have learned throughout your years in the profession.
As educators we have a core of knowledge of what works with students, parents, and colleagues. I think sometimes we become so overwhelmed by new initiates, books, programs, etc. that we lose sense of this core. We also want to always do what is best for our students which includes finding the most effective ways of teaching them. We reach out and start grasping for new information that comes along and all that reaching sometimes takes us too far from our core strength.
The field of education probably has more new information, publications and initiatives than just about any other field or profession. I can't begin to count the number of catalogues and flyers I receive in my mailbox each day letting me know about the newest and most effective programs in literacy, behavior management, math, science, social studies, assessment, classroom design, technology, differentiation, and as you know the list goes on and on.
A while back I was looking at one of these catalogues, saw a particular book on literacy and thought, "That looks good, sounds a bit familiar," turned around to look on my shelf, and there was the book; I already had it! That was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I started thinking that perhaps I have TMI (too much information).
We all have read many good and even great books related to teaching and our profession, and there are hundreds (okay thousands) more out there. Many have excellent content and you will most likely learn something from them. However, in order to keep from being overwhelmed, you need to teach from your core.
When you teach from your core you are centered around what you know to be best practice in education and best for your students. When you are centered you can then have a plan for integrating new knowledge. As you integrate new knowledge with your core knowledge and experience, you can create and innovate. This is a teaching strategy that will consistently energize your teaching.
That is one of the riches in teaching - that feeling of excitement you get when you come up with a new lesson, a new way to teach a concept.
You are using those important 21st century skills to infuse your teaching strategies- creativity and innovation; the same skills that we are trying to make sure our students have.
Here are some tips for working from your core:
Choose one or two key areas each year that you want to focus on finding out more information about.
Within these one or two areas find a good professional resource, perhaps one recommended by a colleague. This might be a book, workshop, conference, or DVD. Digest the information over a period of time.
Set a personal goal for how you will incorporate your new learning ideas with what you already do. This is what we know works for students, connecting new learning with what you know.
Keep it manageable and simple.
Share your successes with others.
When planning your instruction, ask yourself: "What am I doing, and why am I doing it?" This should always be at the core of your instruction. If you cannot articulate this to yourself, most likely you will not be communicating the purpose of a learning activity to your students.
Tune out the noise. Sometimes you just have to throw out the catalogue, or at least put it on the shelf, and focus on what is best practice for students.
I'll leave you with an acronym for remembering this important teaching strategy: to teach from your core (because isn't that what we do best in education, create acronyms for everything?)
Teach from your CORE:
C onnections with our students are most important-
O ngoing learning incorporated with the-
R esearch base - gained from our own knowledge and -
E xperience
If you're ready for some more teaching strategies take a look at Tips for Connecting With Students
and Classroom Activities for Connecting With Students.
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