The Tempo of Teaching (Part 1)
GETTING FOCUSED
Momentum results when two or more people work together toward a common goal. In the case of teaching, the teacher and students work together toward a shared purpose. Most often in sport and physical activity instruction, this shared purposee is the development of student skill or increased knowledge of an activity. The beginning point in teaching is, therefore, getting focused. This involves clearly defining the role of the teacher in the instructional environment. The students and teacher can then establish a clear path and purpose for the lesson at hand.
Define Your Role and Purpose
One difference between less effective and more effective teachers is the way they define their roles as teachers. More effective teachers identify their primary function as instruction. They devote more of their time and energy toward activities that help students learn rather than tasks such as management or counselling. They don't provide recreational opportunities, play babysitter, or plan afternoon coaching responsibilities, They teach, and as a result, their students learn.
The very best teachers walk into a learning environment so students can walk out having learned something. The role of the teacher is to instruct, and the role of the student is to learn. For the lesson to flow, both the students and teacher must be sharply focused on these purposes. When these roles are clearly defined, the teacher enters the lesson ready to teach and the students come expecting to learn.
Find a Path and a Purpose
To complete a successful journey, you need to know where you are going and make continuous progress toward getting there. Most good teachers, therefore, begin a lesson by identifying the instructional objectives and giving an overview of the lesson content. Identifying the objectives and content sets the pace of the lesson because students know what they will learn and how they will learn it. For example, when students know that today they will review a previously learned basketball chest pass, learn a new passing strategy called the "give and go", and practice these activities with some popular drills and a passing game, they understand both the purpose and the path of the lesson. When the teacher and student both know the name and destination, they are prepared to travel together and ready to set the pace of the journey.
Grab Their Attention
Getting a lesson to flow begins with the very first words out of a teacher's mouth. A dull, uninspiring lesson introduction makes students want to leave the lesson even starts.
The lesson should open in ways the students find novel, interesting, and engaging - Regardless of the subject or topic to be learned. Instilling a sense of curiosity, enthusiasm, and excitement makes students look forward to the lesson and eager to begin. This enthusiastic excitement and dynamic class interaction initiates class momentum, and a teacher will carry that enthusiasm throughout the lesson. Two of the most critical parts of a lesson are the opening and the closing. Both need considerable attention from the teacher.
A carefully crafted opening that captures the students' imagination and sparks their interest is an essential element for getting the lesson moving forward. Displaying a new piece of equipment for students to view or try as they enter the learning environment is a good attention-getter. Beginning the class with an interesting question or fact (e.g., "If you put the populations of Philadelphia, Boston and Detroit together, it still wouldn't equal the number of people who went snowboarding in the U.S last year") is another way to stimulate interest and curiosity. Demonstrating a skill or having a video of a sport running when students come to the lesson is also a technique for getting students' attention and building interest in the subject. A skillful teacher will consider the students and the subject to be taught and find a fascinatng, potent lesson opening.
SETTING THE PACE: Getting It Flowing
There are no magic formulas guaranteeing that a lesson will flow smoothly from one activity to the next or that student learning will build progressively and enthusiastically to a satisfying accomplishment.
Orchestrating a lesson in which the momentum builds to an exciting and successful climax takes a knowledgeable and experienced teacher.
Build a Dynamic Climate
Get the students actively engaged in the subject matter and interactinv with both you and each other. In other words, make the students active and agents in their learning, not passive recipients. Ask questions to get them talking about the topic. Have them practice with partners and help one another in their learning. As a teacher, move around the learning environment and interact with the students often. The point is this: Get the students moving physically , mentally and socially. Because students are often socialized into silence during a lesson, many are reluctant to speak, even when asked a direct question by a teacher. Therefore, questions posed in the early portion of the lesson should be mostly of the yes or no variety.
Once the students begin responding, more in-depth questions requiring student thought and more complex answers can be posed. Beginning a lesson with questions also benefits the later portions of the class. As students feel comfortable speaking about the topic, they will more freely offer suggestions and insights as their learning progresses.
Similarly, students are often socialized in sport and physical activity environments into standing in lines and moving only when directed to do so by the teacher. Getting students to move independently and remain on-task may take a period of adjustment. Havint them work in pairs, providing them with public and continuous feedback, and holding them accountable for their learning will help keep them on-task and allow the lesson to flow. Once students become accustomed to moving in the class and taking responsibility for their learning, research has shown that students will prefer this to standing in lines and having the teacher dominate the decision making.
See and Support the Right Stuff
When students are doing the " right stuff" - What they're supposed to be doing, such as successful practice attempts - let them know it. People generally respond better when their successes are celebrated. But don't go overboard. Tell them what they are doing right, and then get on with the next goal. Sometimes negative statements are necessary, but recognizing appropriate behavior early in the lesson sets a positive tone, piques student interest, stimulates motivation, and gets the lesson flowing.
Excerpt from the book, Teaching Sport and Physical Activity : Insights on the Road to Excellence
