Helping students learn subject matter involves more than the delivery of facts and information. The goal of teaching is to assist students in developing intellectual resources to enable them to participate in, not merely to know about, the major domains of human thought and inquiry. These include the past and its relation to the present; the natural world; the ideas, beliefs, and values of our own and other peoples; the dimensions of space and quantity; aesthetics and representation; and so on.

1. Mastery over the subject
Helping students learn subject matter involves more than the delivery of facts and information.
The goal of teaching is to assist students in developing intellectual resources to enable them to
participate in, not merely to know about, the major domains of human thought and inquiry.
These include the past and its relation to the present; the natural world; the ideas, beliefs, and
values of our own and other peoples; the dimensions of space and quantity; aesthetics and
representation; and so on.
Understanding entails being able to use intellectual ideas and skills as tools to gain control over
everyday, real-world problems. Students should see themselves, either alone or in cooperation with
others, as capable of figuring things out--of using mathematics to define and reason through a
problem; of tracking down the origins of current social policy; of interpreting a poem or story, of
understanding how physical forces operate; of recreating in writing a feeling, idea, or experience.
They should both be able and inclined to challenge the claims in a politician's speech, to make
sense of and criticize presentations of statistical information, and to write an effective letter to the
editor. A conceptual mastery of subject matter and the capacity to be critical of knowledge itself
can empower students to be effective actors in their environment.
Of course, nothing is ever simple in education. The answer is that teachers - whether they are
subject specialists or generalists - need a wide range of different skills and attitudes if they are to
assist their students achieve high outcomes. These should include relationships with students,
subject matter knowledge and also an understanding of pedagogical processes to develop the
understanding that is required. Should a teacher fail to have any of these, then it is likely that the
learning in the classroom will not be as successful. However, it would be foolish to isolate one of
these skills to the exclusion of all others: teaching, like most people-centred professions, requires
a range of abilities and skills that the practitioner carefully weaves together, in such a way as to
provide the most meaningful experience possible.
Interacting with Students
Educators must be able to positively interact with all students. This includes difficult students,
students who work below grade-level and students whose personalities just grate on a teacher.
Teachers must put aside their prejudices and feelings in order to treat all students with respect,
provide them with equal opportunities for learning and make them feel confident.
Create a Learning Environment
Creating a safe learning environment that is conducive to learning is essential. Educators must set
high expectations for student performance and behavior. All rules must be enforced consistently
and fairly. Students should not have to worry about being bullied in the classroom and should feel
comfortable when speaking up.
Good at Lesson Plan Design

2. All educators must be capable of designing lesson plans to meet student needs and cover the
standards. This requires knowing how to choose and create instructional materials to accommodate
students at different levels. It also requires creating a scope and sequence that provides students
with enough time to master the standards.
Able to Employ Varied Teaching Strategies
Best practices and other appropriate teaching strategies allow competent educators to effectively
teach the curriculum. Competent educators may lecture, but they also incorporate a variety of
strategies, including non-traditional teaching strategies, to help students with multiple learning
styles learn and stay engaged. Educators also attend regular professional development sessions to
learn new strategies and the latest best practices.
Communicating the subject
Teachers can model what effective communication looks like to students. We believe that
modelling, thinking aloud and unpacking the thinking processes that are required to convey the
content effectively will enable students to process and internalize the targeted subject matter.
If students can replicate this, they can then clearly articulate their own perspectives of what they
are learning, their own logical reasoning and thinking processes. This makes thinking visible. It’s
even more important now with the emphasis on more knowledge-building, inquiry-based and
problem-solving approaches—so rote learning will not do. Students need to learn how to work
through their problems and articulate their reasons for why they have adopted a certain approach,
and justify arguments put forth.
When we talk about literacy in the subjects, it is the ability to use language appropriately,
meaningfully and precisely in a given subject area. It requires the teacher to be proficient in the
language and subject knowledge. Subject teachers have to be conscious of how they construct
meaningful dialogue with their students, how they can facilitate thinking and understanding of
content through interactional modes of language use in the classroom. We are helping teachers
with their classroom talk, interaction with students and questioning strategies.
When teaching, you have to help the students formulate very clear and precise explanations that
address the specific demands of the questions. And what is tough is where students have to present
scientific and logical reasoning, argument and justification to show the logical connection of the
evidence and claims. All these skills become very critical: How you formulate your explanations,
how you evaluate your explanations as new data/evidence comes in as part of the process of
scientific inquiry.
So you can’t talk about effective communication in a vacuum. It has to be in a specific context
with a clear outcome. By modelling effective communication as a Science teacher, your students
will become aware of the norms and conventions of reading, writing, talking and thinking like a

3. scientist. There’s now a greater awareness and attention on the part of the teachers as to what is
involved because they want to help students, especially those who are weaker in English.
Following are some of the communication skills that a teacher must possess so that they interact
properly with the students –
Positive Motivation
This is one of the important things that a teacher must possess. In a class, students always have
different kinds of taste and preferences over subjects. So it is the job of the teacher to create
enthusiasm and interest in the minds of the students towards a subject. It is also a teachers role to
remove any fear and inhibitions that a student may have towards a subject.
Effective Body Language
This is the most powerful communication skill that a teacher must possess. Good presentation
skills include a powerful body language supported by verbal skills. This can create a long lasting
impression in the minds of the students. Thus, a teachers lectures will inevitably become more
interactive and interesting for the students. Besides, a teacher should maintain the volume, tone
and rhythm of their voice during a lecture.
Sense of Humor
The importance of this factor has been regularly underestimated. A good sense of humor keeps the
students active and interested in the teachers class. A teacher who is dour and lacks humor doesnt
contribute to the overall well being of the students.
Understanding the Students
Teachers should encourage students to communicate openly. There should be emphasis on
cultivating a dialogue rather than a monologue. So while solving any kind of problems in the
classroom, it is always wise to hear the opinions of the students also.
Team Formation
This is a good method where you can divide the classroom into small teams and ask them to solve
different problems or complete assignments. This practice will increase not only the interaction
among the students but also among the teacher and students.
Technical Skills

4. It is also important that teachers should be up to date with all the latest teaching aids like
computers, video conferencing and especially the use of internet. This will also help the students
to keep up their interest in the learning process.
Students are the future of every nation. That is why the role of teachers is so important to the
society. It is through a teacher that generations of youngsters are deeply influenced. Overall
improvement in a student can be expected when communication skills for teachers is given due
importance. Thus, it is important that communication skills become an important ingredient of a
teacher’s professional competency.
Project/Activities in the subject
Project learning, also known as project-based learning, is a dynamic approach to teaching in which
students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing cross-curriculum
skills while working in small collaborative groups.
Because project-based learning is filled with active and engaged learning, it inspires students to
obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're studying. Research also indicates that students
are more likely to retain the knowledge gained through this approach far more readily than through
traditional textbook-centered learning. In addition, students develop confidence and self-direction
as they move through both team-based and independent work.
In the process of completing their projects, students also hone their organizational and research
skills, develop better communication with their peers and adults, and often work within their
community while seeing the positive effect of their work.
Because students are evaluated on the basis of their projects, rather than on the comparatively
narrow rubrics defined by exams, essays, and written reports, assessment of project-based work is
often more meaningful to them. They quickly see how academic work can connect to real-life
issues -- and may even be inspired to pursue a career or engage in activism that relates to the
project they developed.
Students also thrive on the greater flexibility of project learning. In addition to participating in
traditional assessment, they might be evaluated on presentations to a community audience they
have assiduously prepared for, informative tours of a local historical site based on their recently
acquired expertise, or screening of a scripted film they have painstakingly produced.
Project learning is also an effective way to integrate technology into the curriculum. A typical
project can easily accommodate computers and the Internet, as well as interactive whiteboards,
global-positioning-system (GPS) devices, digital still cameras, video cameras, and associated
editing equipment.

5. Adopting a project-learning approach in your classroom or school can invigorate your learning
environment, energizing the curriculum with a real-world relevance and sparking students' desire
to explore, investigate, and understand their world.
Activity method is a technique adopted by a teacher to emphasize his or her method of teaching
through activity in which the students participate rigorously and bring about efficient learning
experiences. It is a child-centered approach. It is a method in which the child is actively involved
in participating mentally and physically. Learning by doing is the main focus in this method.
Learning by doing is imperative in successful learning since it is well proved that more the senses
are stimulated, more a person learns and longer he/she retains.
It requires active problem solving by students in finding patterns in the information through their
own investigation and analysis. With continued practice in these processes, students learn not the
content of the lesson but also develop many other skills.
 It enhances creative aspect of experience.
 It gives reality for learning.
 Uses all available resources.
 Provides varied experiences to the students to facilitate the acquisition of knowledge,
experience, skills and values.
 Builds the student’s self-confidence and develops understanding through work in
his/her group.
 Gets experiences, develop interest, enriches vocabulary and provides stimulus for
reading.
 Develops happy relationship between students and students, teachers and students.
 An activity is said to be the language of the child. A child who lacks in verbal
expression can make up through use of ideas in the activity.
 Subjects of all kind can be taught through activity.
 Social relation provides opportunity to mix with others.
Kinds of activities:
The activities used in this strategy can be generalized under three main categories:
· Exploratory - gathering knowledge, concept and skill.

6. · Constructive - getting experience through creative works.
· Expressional – presentations.
The Activities you could focus on:-
Experiencing:
watching, observing, comparing, describing, questioning, discussing, investigating, reporting,
collecting, selecting, testing, trying, listening, reading, drawing, calculating, imitating, modeling,
playing, acting, taking on roles, talking, writing about what one can see, hear, feel, taste,
experimenting and imagining.
Memorizing:
Sequencing ordering, finding regularities and patterns, connect with given knowledge, use
different modes of perception, depict.
Understanding:
Structuring, ordering, classifying, constructing, solving, planning, predicting, transferring,
applying knowledge, formulating ones individual understanding, interpreting, summarizing,
evaluating, judging, explaining and teaching.
Organizing activities:
The process of organizing activities must be based on curricular aims bringing together the needs,
ideas, interests and characteristics of the children with the knowledge, skill, experience, and
personality of the teacher within a given environment. The extent to which the teacher works with
students individually or in groups affect the relation the teacher has with each child.
Steps required for Effective Organization of Activities.
a. Planning.
b. Involving children in the learning process.
c. Each child is made an active learner.
d. For each activity ensure you follow the principles of:-
 What?
 How? Work directions step by step, including:

7.  With whom? Where? How long?
 What after?
e. Ensure you give clear instructions before each activity. It must focus on the above a, b, c, d.
Role of a Teacher in an Activity Based Method
A planner, an organizer and evaluator.
Facilitator.
Decision maker.
Knowledge imparter
Disciplinarian