I'm excited to share more of my experiences and observations as a classroom teacher. As I mentioned in my last post here, a teacher needs to love what he is doing to carry out his duties effectively. Also, a teacher needs to be knowledgeable in the lecture area. Equally, the teacher needs to be patient with his students in the process of educating.
Looking at my scheme of work, I am seven weeks going into the topics the students are to learn in this academic session. So far, I have taught them about the states of matter, properties of each of the states of matter, gas laws, and the various separating techniques we have. Under the gas laws, we studied Boyle's law, Charles' law, general gas equation, ideal gas equation, Gay-Lussac's law, Dalton's law of partial pressure, and the like.
Initially, the concepts of gas laws sounded strange to them but gradually, I was able to unfold them to their understanding. Still, the calculations involved appeared difficult to them. After a series of repetitions and explanations, those who paid close attention and showed interest understood.
As you know, we have different categories of students in a classroom. There are the serious ones who value education and are eager to learn. On the other hand, we have those students who are not always concentrating in the classroom. These are the lazy students and usually, they like sitting in the back row. Still, as a teacher, you try to carry them along with the lectures.
Assessing The Students
After seven weeks of learning, I decided to give them a test/ quiz to assess their level of comprehension and understanding of the topics. Before now, numerous assignments were given to keep them close to their books. The results of the test were both impressive and unsatisfactory.
It showed that some students were attentive and studious while some weren't. However, on average, a greater percentage of students had a pass mark.
What do you think should be done to those who performed poorly or failed?