TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

Inspiration: The Power of Teachers

Last Updated 9 November 2023/ By Zineb DJOUB

How can you inspire students and ignite their passion to learn?

We all have memories of good teachers. Those teachers who successfully spurred our curiosity to learn more, made us admire every moment spent in the classroom and long for the next day of school. They taught us how to commit ourselves to hard work, learn from our failure, believe in ourselves, and draw our own endless learning pathways.

We still remember them after many years because of the indelible marks they made in our lives. When we refer to them, we feel happy and nostalgic about those wonderful, unique and unforgettable moments in our lives.

But, what is this long-lasting effect? This is called INSPIRATION.

WHAT IS INSPIRATION?

Inspiration is an internal stimulation of positive emotions, thoughts, and values. It is an impetus for actions geared towards achieving goals. Inspiration is driven by emotions, settled by the mind, and executed through actions. That is why inspiring teachers are those most admired, valued, and respected by their students.

Inspiration clarifies our vision of life and sharpens our understanding of the self, making life more purposeful and focused. When students get inspired they involve in a process of self-exploration where they dig into the creative and making genius inside them.

Because inspiration has a long-lasting effect, inspiring teachers are those who are remembered, learned from, and are considered role models. Inspiring teachers are therefore required in schools, colleges, institutions, and in every context where student learning is targeted.

Here are 5 thoughts that can help you inspire your students.

1. Recognize the value of inspiration

To inspire your students to learn, it is so important to believe in the powerful effect teacher inspiration can have on their learning. If you hold such a belief, you are likely to develop more attitudes and practices that intend to inspire your students. So, inspiration can only become your intent once you believe in its potential.

2. Be professional

An essential and required trait of the profession is being professional. A teacher who fails to implement her lessons or shows a deficiency in the mastery of her subject matter is not likely to inspire students since she is not professional.

However, professionalism is not only about what content to deliver to students and how to do it more effectively. It has to do more with building up relationships with students based on mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation for the sake of enhancing learning. It is the way you INTERACT with students and manage embarrassing situations that determines how professional you are and thus inspiring.

3. Stand out from the crowd

You have to be UNIQUE, i.e.,  your students see you different from other teachers, so there is the only YOU! This happens when your teaching (both the ‘what’ and ‘how’) has specific features which make it valuable and interesting. Your strong personality which is reflected through your interaction and attitudes with students can also make you identical. So, you need to stand out from the crowd because this is what makes you ADMIRED.

4. Talk to your students’ minds and also hearts

It is true that teaching is about supporting students to reflect on content, reconstruct and co-construct meaning, communicate and share ideas, and take more ownership of their learning. But, students’ affect remains a decisive factor in such a process. If students are not motivated to learn and struggle with their lower self-esteem, or inhibition, they are not likely to be active agents in their learning process even when well-designed and planned instructions are provided.

Considering students’ affect is an essential component of the teaching process. Respecting students, talking to them and listening to their inquiries, motivating them, making them believe in themselves, and supporting them in overcoming their fears and difficulties will make them feel good about themselves, awaken the genuine inside them, and further their learning.

When you bring such empowerment and change to students’ learning, you become an inspiring teacher. So, to inspire your students, care about the HEART, provide the necessary support, and avoid making assumptions about their attitudes.

5. Instil a love of life-long learning

When you induce this kind of love, you are breaking down learning boundaries and connecting students’ learning to their personal goals and plans. You are inspiring because they will never forget that it is you who set up new dimensions for their learning where they focus more on their personal growth and fulfilment. But, how to instil this love of lifelong learning among students?

#Show your passion for learning so that it will rub off on your students :
Telling students that you are still learning, from them and other resources, is not enough to induce such a feeling. Your passion needs to be converted into actions. Share with them the books you are reading, conferences, PD programmes you did or will participate in, the research you are conducting, what have you learned, and what you are looking for to gain more knowledge and expertise.

Also, when you experiment with new things you are encouraging students to learn through taking risks, innovating, and bringing change. So, bring new materials, activities, and ideas into your classroom and show your enthusiasm for integrating them. Tell your students about your purpose, why you have opted for them (their relevance to their learning), and what you are expecting them to do, and seek their feedback later on.

#Promote self-directed learning :
When teachers teach for exams and trap their students using standardized instructions leaving them no choice and voice, learning is likely to be perceived as an end itself limited by one space and pace.

Therefore, instilling a love of life-long learning requires providing students with ample opportunities to learn on their own inside and outside the classroom: think, experiment, collaborate, make decisions, and share ideas in class. To make such learning a fruitful experience, provide guidance and support and keep on nudging students to LEARN MORE.

Think about inspiring students, think about making a great difference to their learning experience. This is because teaching is more about inspiring and reshaping students’ careers.