Andres' lesson: key points

Teaching is a series of choices.  There are no correct or incorrect choices, but there are cost-benefit analyses that can be made.

Examples of choices include:

• Calling on individual students to answer:

This can be high-cost for the student if they make a mistake in front of the group.  This can be mitigated if the teacher knows the student has the right answer and says so, as n "Maria, you got number 3 right, can you share it with us?"

• Having students read aloud from the board or from a text:

Not everyone is good at this.  The student might mispronounce, or else read in such a monotone that no-one really understands.

• The use of technology:

This is a biggie: the benefits can be enormous of course, but what if the internet connection chooses that moment to break down, or if you somehow lose your page?  It's worth planning for this, either by practicing with any unfamiliar equipment or techniques beforehand or by having a plan B in case something goes wrong.

• Explaining a new word:

You can translate, explain, have the student look it up in a dictionnary, have everyone look it up online etc.  What to do and why?

...and the hardest decision of all:

• Help a struggling student or focus on the others:

Anytime a teacher spends helping someone is time not spent paying attention to anyone else.  The question here is how to buy time to help that student?  Asking her to see you after class is one option, but that might be embarassing or difficult for her.  Other ways involve putting the rest to work on a task while you make the rounds of strugglers and fast-finishers to support and/or push them.