Teaching a Class at TarValon.net
by Neisa Alibrylla, Aes Sedai of the Yellow Ajah
So you've decided to teach a class in the Classroom! Congratulations for making it this far, and thank you for doing your part to contribute to TarValon.net and helping the Novices and Recruits study for their test to advance to Accepted and Soldier. But what now? To keep interest in your class and to make sure you teach the students what they really need to know, you have to do a few things.
DO LESSON PLANS!
Every good teacher creates lesson plans for any lesson or unit they will teach. Some may be very detailed, some may be very general. You be the judge on how much is necessary. If you plan to teach a unit on Nations, for example, before you start the lesson, think on how you want to teach the class. Do you want to do it nation by nation? What will you cover when you discuss the nations? How will you decide which nation to cover? There are a lot of questions a teacher needs to answer before he starts to teach a class, and those are just a few of them.
When preparing a lesson plan, keep a few things in mind. Only plan what is necessary for each post. Make sure you give enough work for a handful of students, but don't give so much work that it is overwhelming. A lesson plan, no matter how general, is key to having a clear unit, and will save time in the future.
KNOW YOUR SUBJECT!!
You need to know the subject that you are talking about. Don't teach about the Aiel if you don't understand their history, or understand the subtleties of ji'e'toh. Do research if you are unsure about a topic. Find a reference online or in any of the WoT books that can be a handy resource if you forget something, or if you need some quotations to help you through your lesson. This is very important. Taking on the responsibility of teaching a class gives your future students the impression that you know about your subject. Don't take this lightly.
HOMEWORK?!
It is fun to assign homework to the students, but make sure you keep it light, fun, easy, and fast. This is not their Accepted or Soldier contribution; don't pretend that it is. If you assign homework, you will be surprised how many students respond to it. As long as you keep it fun and easy! Also, assign homework that will make them think. Don't assign something just to keep them off your back for a couple days.
IT'S TEACHING TIME...!
Let's go to the heart of the matter, teaching. That's what you're here for, right? Everything I've talked about is very important, and the actual teaching depends on what you have already done for the lesson. To keep your students interested, follow these few guidelines:
Have fun. Let's face it: this isn't a real school, with real grades. But this is something you are expected to take seriously. Just don't get upset if students don't write back within a couple days, or if they don't answer your questions right. This leads to the next couple points.
Make your questions and explanations clear and concise. If the students don't reply in a couple days, chances are they don't understand the question, and are waiting for someone else to reply. If you have any problems with your explanations, you are expected to talk to someone who can reasonably help you clear up your language to make it easier to understand.
Make use of your resources. The Librarian is always there to help answer any question you have- do not hesitate to ask her any questions. Research has already been mentioned, and needs to be mentioned again. If a student does not understand a grammar question in the Old Tongue class, perhaps an explanation of English grammar will help out. Knowledge of other subjects or topics is very helpful in explanations and can help the students understand better.
You must understand also that you are teaching to people of ages ranging from 14 to 30 or over, to people from all around the world. Everyone has their different ideals, and has different things they have been taught. If you are not aware of this, you need to reconsider teaching.
Answer the responses. Going over old classes in the classroom showed me one big error by a majority of teachers: THE TEACHERS DID NOT RESPOND IF THE STUDENTS WERE RIGHT OR NOT. Not only that, but a lot of the teachers responded favorably when the answer given was incorrect.
It is your responsibility to make sure the class is active, the students aren't the only ones who need to post. Bump the thread if necessary to keep interest alive. A suggestion: if you do not use "Topic Reply Notifications," found as an option right before you post, use it for your classes. Do not forget that you have classes up and running. And do not let the class die until you have covered everything you are to teach.
THE ACTUAL LESSON GOES LIKE THIS...
An actual lesson is broken up into three main parts. A beginning, or introduction, a middle, the "meat" of the lesson, and an end, the conclusion.
The Introduction is just that, an intro. This is the area that you will give out your class expectations and what you will be teaching, and how. Give a brief explanation of the class itself; what is supposed to be covered according to the expectations of the Librarian and of TarValon.net. If definitions of terms will help, do that here.
The meat of the lesson is that itself. Teach! Don't just ask questions and expect the students to connect the dots. A really basic lesson would be to a. correct/go over the previous lesson, b. teach the next lesson, c. give out homework/questions. That's very basic! Mix it up with fun activities, interesting questions, and discussion. Skip the homework/questions altogether and ask something that will provoke a lively discussion.
The Conclusion is just a point where you wrap up the lesson. Go over what you taught, outlining what was most important. Some teachers have a mini test; that is not necessary, but it gives the students a way to see how much they learned.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS!!! (I can't say this enough.)
Throughout the lesson, make sure you always answer questions. If you don't like questions cluttering up your thread, ask them to send it via private message or email. The students are here to learn. If you do not answer their questions, you are not doing your job. If you do not know the answer, admit it. No one knows everything. Refer them to someone who is knowledgeable in the subject, or a reference online or in a book for them to find out.
Lastly, have fun and enjoy the class, and make good use of all the references out there!