I believe a successful teacher is primarily a matter of…

I believe that being a successful teacher is primarily a matter presenting and demonstrating a range of materials and techniques, and properly scaffolding students as they learn these skills. Especially at the elementary level, students need to be exposed to lots of mediums and processes. Many of the things presented they’re seeing for the first time and have never practiced. Even if the student doesn’t care for a medium or process, it’s still valuable for them to practice, even if there isn’t a lot of success.

Every class has a range of student ability, so it’s critical to differentiate instructions for students. Some students need to see a process multiple times to understand, where others may understand after a simple verbal description. It’s important to recognize the ways that each student learns best, and provide a range of instruction and examples.

Properly scaffolding students through their learning is also an essential part of being a successful teacher. If students are struggling, they can easily get frustrated. Noticing those struggles and helping the student improve without doing the work for them is a tough balance. Encouragement is very necessary during proper scaffolding. Most of the time, the students are more than capable of overcoming their problem. If they can solve the problem on their own, that is the best situation for learning. Encouragement can be that extra motivation that a student needs to get past their frustrations and find a solution.