Focus on Learning

Teaching is an everlasting learning process.  Graduating as a teacher doesn’t put an end mark at the end of your learning journey.  It is just a beginning for continuous learning-job long trip, as I can call. With every sun rise, we come across new teaching struggles that need solutions.  So, as teachers, we have to keep on looking and searching for solutions to these problems and even learn and study books and references in order to reach the aimed answers.  As a result, there are four main factors that are agreed on, which can affect learning positively or negatively: the student, the task, the environment and the teacher.

The student is our focus as teachers.  He/ She is the teacher’s, the school and the parents main concern. There are many elements that turn around this factor that can help or even hinder the learning process.  Before coming to a normal school, a child has to have mental and physical readiness for learning as a normal kid.  The student has to have the will to learn and to understand the idea that learning is not a punishment but essential for being a better person. 

Also, the environment plays a great role in hindering or helping students to learn.  Regardless the essential needs that should be available and provided like being in a good health situation, alimentary satisfied and feeling warm, there are other important things that should be found in order to create a good and convenient environment for the students.  Decorations, well lit and ventilated classes, comfortable seats and the most serious issue is cleanness, are all significant parts of a suitable environment.  Plus, scattering words, phrases, quotes or proverbs all around the class, would really encourage and motivate students’ learning by creating such a word rich environment.  

As for tasks which both the student and the teacher have a great deal with, is one other factor in the learning process.  The on level tasks ( I mean that tasks should be equivalent the students’ level) should be well explained, modeled, subdivided into mini-sequenced steps and most important thing, it should be interesting and meaningful to grab the students’ attention on one hand, and to relate it to their own experiences and daily life on the other hand.  

In addition, the teacher is another factor affecting the learner process.  The teacher is considered the one who can control of the other factors.  He/ She is the one who is responsible for providing a suitable environment for learners, facilitating task accomplishing and motivating students for learning.  The teacher has to be knowledgeable about her students’ interests, background information, educational level and of course, the material to be taught.  She/ He has to use variety of strategies and techniques, be optimistic, active and full of life because who are dealt with are human beings who are there in need to know how to get ready for life.  Being a good manager of the time and class, well prepared and ready for effective feedback are all a teacher requirement.  All of these elements come under factors that help learning process.  In the contrary, a teacher who has the opposite of what is mentioned in addition to being a teacher for no other choice and introducing personal problems to class will definitely cause steps back for learners.