Every Wednesday, I share my thoughts on Learning and Professional Development.  Today’s post was written by guest columnist John Bishop of Teaching Moments.  Please consider printing this post and sharing it with your favorite student.

10 Ways to Help Your Teacher

Your teachers want you to succeed, but YOU have to help them.

They teach you about a particular subject like science, math or English. And they do much, much more.

In combination with your parents, teachers show you how to take responsibility, how to get along with others, how to handle stress, how to improve your communication skills and how to believe in yourself. They teach you how to manage your time, how to set goals and how to make better personal decisions. So how can you help them?

10 Ways to Help YOUR Teachers

   1.   Listen—really listen—in class

   2.   Improve your note-taking skills

   3.   Take part in the class discussions

   4.   Review your subject notes before class

   5.   If necessary, change your seat assignment

   6.   Do an extra-credit project

   7.   Ask questions

   8.   Double check your homework and test material    before handing them in

   9.   Hand your homework in on time

10.  Two days before a test, do some additional studying in that subject area

Teachers have goals, called lesson plans, for each of their classes. For example, how do you teach students about the metric system if they have never been exposed to the concept? A lesson plan is a step-by-step breakdown of how the teacher plans to accomplish this task. Then, how do teachers measure how well you are learning the material?

You guessed it. Tests, quizzes, class participation and term papers are the tools they use to measure their success. They tell the teacher if your class needs further review or can move to a new topic.

Here’s the key. The above ten rules will help your teacher succeed. The bonus -  you will succeed also.

Ideas for Implementation:
1. Take one item for the week and work to improve in that area.
2. Show your teachers what you are doing and ask for their help.
3. Ask a student who is good in note taking to give you a couple of pointers.