4 Mistakes New Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

4 Mistakes New Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

To help you through those stressful early days in the classroom, we asked successful, veteran teachers to share the top four mistakes they made as new teacher along with their advice for now to avoid these missteps

1. Not Take The time to Get to Know Students

• Research shows students perform better and have fewer behavioral problems in classrooms were teachers work to connect with them
• Get to know your students and let your students get to know you. Share personal stories, play games with them at recess, and talk about their interests and hobbies.
• Building relationships helps students feel safe and supported

2. Failing to Set Classroom Management Expectation Right Away

• On the first day of a new school year, use a PowerPoint presentation to introduce students to the rules and procedures of your classroom.
• Practice everything from a morning routine to how to behave when a visitor enters the classroom – this will set the tone for a great year.
• Having procedures in place early on will help you focus on teaching and building a career instead of worrying about behavior issues.

3. Forgetting that Students Need to Actively Participate in Learning

• Don’t become so focused on avoiding behavior problems and keeping students on task that you forget to truly involve students in learning.
• Change your teaching strategies to allow students to creatively engage with new materials and watch their learning go through the roof.

4. Not Taking Advantage of Online and Offline Support

• Create a professional learning network through Twitter chats like #hacklearning, Instagram or Blogs (lie TeacherVision). These tools can provide new teachers with personalized professional development
• Creating connections with colleagues in your school is also helpful. Ask if your school or district has a professional learning community or mentoring