By Alexandra Simultog-Fagkang Sabangan
As teachers, we should always help our students focus and maintain their interest in their lessons. We must help them enjoy learning and not bore them with our lectures. Students are more receptive and productive when they are not bored. When students are bored, their learning is disrupted.
There may be several factors why students lose their enthusiasm to participate in class, but most of the time, it all boils down to the teacher not being able to effectively deliver and communicate the lesson.
Teachers must be effective communicators to connect with students and get their attention. When asked what gets them bored during their classes, most students say that their teachers have:
a monotone voice
no enthusiasm
poor physical appearance
no eye contact
no motion
no visual aids (illustrations, animation, etc)
predictable or routine teaching methods
How can we avoid losing our students’ interest? We must change our teaching style
Voice: We must improve our speech and manner of speaking. The voice we use during informal conversations must differ from the voice we use during a lecture. We must use the proper intonation, modulation, and emphasis so that our students will hear the lessons clearly. A serious tone will tell your students that the information being discussed is important, while an animated voice induces creativity.
Eye contact: To make ourselves understood by our students, we must first speak to their eyes. We must focus our eyes on our students so that they will know that we are interested in what we are discussing and that we want to communicate with them.
Facial Expression: Our message can be read through our facial expression and body language. It is important to smile so that our students will be comfortable listening to us.
Gesture and movement: We should not limit our teaching space to the back of the desk. We must reach out to our students perhaps by walking around the classroom. We can also change the students’ seating arrangement from time to time. Teachers can also change venues. You may conduct your lecture in a place related to the topic.
Posture and physical appearance: Our body also does some talking .Have the normal posture while teaching .Standing straight behind a lectern /table communicates a serious intent .Sitting down on a student’s desk indicates a closer relation to the students and to come down to their level and staring at them would mean ” I need a moment of your attention “ especially if the child has a disruptive behavior .When we are always in the proper posture while standing and sitting normally , we will find that the pupils do the same and it is one way also of calling their attention to be in their normal posture too. At the same time, clothes do not make a man but it can send the message better. We must wear proper attire and always look our best when facing our students.
It is not enough that we have an interesting topic or fully-loaded lesson plan. Sometimes we forget that it is the teacher whom our students will hear, see, and connect with first.
