Become a powerful teacher

A powerful teacher is one that knows him/herself and knows his/her learners. Teachers need to know the following about themselves, their learners, the curriculum and their teaching environment:

1. Know Yourself

* Know how the context of your own life (culture, home language, life experiences, emotional wellbeing, etc.) impacts on your teaching.

* Know your interests, likes and dislikes and how these impact on your teaching.

* Know your strengths and weaknesses in terms of the knowledge and skills of the subjects you teach. Identify the areas in which you would need support or development.

* Know how children learn and why it is important to use different teaching and learning approaches.

* Know your own personal, preferable learning styles.

* Know what is considered as the characteristics for an excellent teacher in the subject that you teach and the gaps you have to overcome in order to become such an excellent teacher.

2. Know Your Learners

* Know your learners’ contextual lives (culture, home language, life experiences, emotional wellbeing, etc.) in order to understand the possible influences these may have on their learning.

* Know your learners’ learning style preferences and possible learning barriers.

* Know what interests (sport, culture, hobbies, technology, etc.) your learners have to help you contextualise your lessons to make them more relevant and stimulating.