Teaching priority number 1

It is the first weeks of term and you have many things to consider and organise. You want to make sure your teaching gets off to a good start so the question is, what should you focus on? If you could only concentrate on one aspect my number one recommendation would be to work towards building positive relationships with your students. Clearly the process of creating a positive and collaborative relationship with students is an ongoing endeavour, that will perhaps never have an end point, however the benefits of engaging in this process can be significant, with engaged and motivated students who are open to a variety of learning activities and approaches, importantly leading to the progression and achievement outcomes both they and you desire. So how do we build positive relationships with our students? Remember names - while this is a big challenge for large cohorts, the value of being able to remember names is considerable, for instance it can immediately mean that...