Резюме: В этой статье предлагаются конкретные способы, с помощью которых преподаватели колледжей могут развивать отношения со студентами, которые способствуют мотивации и удовлетворению. Представленные здесь методы были собраны из книг о преподавании в колледжах и наблюдениях выдающихся учителей.
Ключевые слова: образ аудитории, общие методики, преподаватель, стили, преданность, общение.
Turabaeva Kamila Eshmaxmatovna
is an English teacher
Department of Foreign Languages
Karshi Engineering and Economic Institute,
Karshi, Republic of Uzbekistan
Турабаева Камила Эшмахматовна
учитель английского языка
Кафедра иностранных языков
Каршинский инженерно-экономический институт,
г. Карши, Республика Узбекистан
DIFFERENT STYLES OF TEACHING
РАЗЛИЧНЫЕ СТИЛИ ОБУЧЕНИЯ
Summary: This article suggests specific ways in which college teachers can foster relationships with students that promote motivation and satisfaction. The techniques presented here collected from books on college teaching and observations of outstanding teachers.
Key words: classroom image, general techniques, an instructor, styles, commitment, to communicate.
Резюме: В этой статье предлагаются конкретные способы, с помощью которых преподаватели колледжей могут развивать отношения со студентами, которые способствуют мотивации и удовлетворению. Представленные здесь методы были собраны из книг о преподавании в колледжах и наблюдениях выдающихся учителей.
Ключевые слова: образ аудитории, общие методики, преподаватель, стили, преданность, общение.
Social events early in the term do not harm the development of rapport but have limited power to produce it, are not likely to be attended by the students who most need rapport, and cannot offset distancing or rejecting remarks by the teacher in class.
Some college teachers try to promote rapport and reduce their classroom image as authority figures by dressing casually, encouraging students to call them by their first names, or giving students considerable freedom to select the work they do.
Others encourage informal interaction with students outside classrooms by scheduling conferences, sponsoring parties or picnics, inviting students to lunch, or holding class meetings outside on the grass or in their homes. Unfortunately, none of these strategies ensures satisfied students. Furthermore, none are necessary for interpersonal rapport to develop and for students to be highly motivated.
The students most likely to call the instructor by his or her first name or to accept social invitations are the ones who already feel relatively comfortable, not those who are most in need of special attention. Many students find the novelty of calling their first name. This novelty or comfort of calling first names of instructors is superficial and is no quick substitute for a real relationship period near the beginning of a course; this comfort is developed over time. As Kenneth Eble observes in The Craft of Teaching, the best strategy for developing rapport "may be no more formal than providing excuses and opportunities for easy talk." One-to-one interactions with students in the second half of a course are likely to be more meaningful than those that occur earlier. The subtleties of a college teacher's behavior toward a class throughout the term do more to produce an optimal class atmosphere than sweeping structural changes at the beginning.
They are organized into groups of techniques dealing with (1) fostering personal relationships with students, (2) obtaining regular feedback from them, (3) motivating students to work through effective classroom leadership, (4) showing special attention to certain types of students, and (5) handling miscellaneous interpersonal issues. The easiest way to begin forming personal relationships with students is to learn their names. Nothing so impresses students as a college teacher who makes a serious effort to get to know them as individuals. Any instructor can learn to match up to 50 student names with faces in the first few classes if he or she approaches the task with a positive attitude and commitment. With practice, some may be able to learn up to 100. Learning each student's name is so effective at promoting rapport because it begins personal contact immediately but does not seem forced, rushed, or intrusive. When we meet a new colleague, we learn his or her name as the first step in forming a working relationship; so it should be between college teacher and student.
Other general techniques for improving memory can be used but, like the system advocated here, any method will require effort to be effective. Begin by introducing yourself on the first day of class. Then hand out index cards and ask the students to write the usual information about themselves (plus whatever else you would like to know) on the cards. Be sure to ask them to indicate what they would like to be called. Then, ask them to add anything else they wish you, the instructor, to know. This asks the students to reply to your personal introduction to all of them by making individual introductions of them. The instruction "Add whatever you wish," politely pressures them to divulge a bit of themselves. Most students will add nothing, but a few will dutifully list other courses they have had in the subject or their extracurricular activities; a few will attempt to show off their wit or political attitudes, demonstrating what interesting persons they are.
It helps to have reviewed the names on a preregistration list beforehand, even though these lists are never completely accurate. Certain first names are common, so make a mental note of how many Jims, Bobs, Kathys, Kims, Lisas, and so forth are in the class. Consulting "face books" (annuals or other directories with student pictures) beforehand will make learning the names a little easier, but it is ineffective to attempt to learn all the names in this way before the first group meeting. Learning them in class requires a large amount of eye contact, and this may contribute as much to the growth of the individual relationships as your permanent association of face and name.
After asking students to pass in their cards, read off each student's name and move near enough to the appropriate row to be able to see that student's face distinctly. You need make no effort to learn students in class and beginning a personal relationship. You will learn last names almost automatically when you grade and record the first exams or papers.
Note on the card other information about each student if needed, but concentrate on looking directly at the students' faces, forming a visual image of each face while silently saving the matching first name over and over. Then go on to the next card, and so forth. After every three or four students, make a quick mental note of the first names you have just learned, and ask again for any that you cannot recall. Practice the whole row once more before moving on to the next one. The key to doing this activity well is to control any anxiety or embarrassment you may have at taking class time for it. If you find yourself going too fast, starting to get tense or immediately forgetting names, make a little joke or ask a casual question of an occasional student.
When you have gone through the whole class, set the cards aside, begin at the first row, and attempt to call each student's first name.
Students do not expect an instructor to be able to do this immediately, so you have nothing to lose. Even if you have forgotten over half the names, continue on through the entire class. Tell the students mat learning their names is difficult but important and that you are going to keep practicing for a while during each class until you learn them all. Students are more likely to believe that you really do want to get to know them if you put this statement into practice. At the end of the first class, practice calling names by looking at faces one last time.
As soon after the first class meeting as you can, go through the cards again, saying each first name silently and attempting to picture the face that goes with it. Repeat this process once more later in the day and once each day thereafter until the class meets next. Give yourself a final refresher just before going to the second class, but do not be disconcerted if you can remember only a few of the faces with confidence.
At the beginning of the second class, look at each face and try to call each student's first name. Though this is easier than trying to imagine the faces from the names, no more than 50 per cent accuracy is normal. Once again, try to remain calm when you must ask for a student's name again. Most likely you will do better now than at the beginning of class.
Continue going through the students' names at the beginning and end of each class and picturing the faces from the cards each day until you can say even name correctly the first time. By the third or fourth class meeting it is usually no longer necessary to call every student's name; you can scan the room before class and call only those about which you are not completely confident, In addition to these steps, use students' names as much as possible when calling on them in class, answering questions after class, or meeting them on campus. This helps to solidify initial learning, and you will rarely forget the names during the rest of the semester.
This no doubt seems like a lot of time to spend on such a modest goal—and instructors who pursue it report that it does require effort and commitment, especially at first. Most find that their memory for names improves over successive semesters, however, and that the resulting rapport is well worth the investment. Learning names is the most important single thing a college teacher can do to communicate to students that he or she values them as individuals. It also satisfies the instructor's need for personal contact with students and opens up other channels to personal relationships with them.
Another way to develop rapport with students is to come to class five to ten minutes early, especially before the initial class meetings. This conditions students to expect to start on time and also provides opportunities to chat informally with them before class or for them to approach you about their concerns. Similarly, staying after class accomplishes educational as well as interpersonal objectives by allowing in-depth discussions of the content just presented. Most students will not come up after class, however, whereas before class you have a chance to contact the students who are unlikely to approach you afterwards.
Announced office hours are a traditional way of communicating accessibility to students, though only a minority will use them, and it is rare for a student to come by during the early weeks of the term. Because students expect college teachers to post office hours and want to know that they can come by without an appointment, it is very important to do this. Being available over a large number of hours does not increase the personal interest that students perceive, however; two or three hours per week is usually sufficient. The last section of this chapter offers specific suggestions on ways to achieve maximum interpersonal and educational value from individual conferences with students.
Few students will call, but all will view the invitation as a serious indication of your commitment to communicate with them. The accessibility you offer will take little time in actuality and will be more than repaid by the positive attitudes you will create in the class as a whole.
Anything you can do to show interest in student as individuals will help to promote rapport. For example, one outstanding teacher I interviewed reported that he regularly scans the student newspaper for the names of any of his students so that he can congratulate them or merely acknowledge seeing their name or letter. Other teachers make a special effort to attend athletic and artistic events in which their students are involved for these techniques to be effective, however, a teacher's interest must be genuine.
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