Key themes

Discover the key themes of teaching success.

Teachers bring different personalities that lead to individual teaching styles

  • there is something intangible about teaching styles because they are inherently personal and cannot be easily copied
  • teaching is about being yourself, expressing your personality, leveraging on your strengths, and can be about contributing a point of difference
  • successful teaching is a matter of attitude and energy rather than a specific teaching style.

A positive attitude towards teaching and class interaction is a must

  • passion and enthusiasm in your teaching is contagious to students. Teachers' passion is one of the main reasons students learn
  • it is a privilege to be involved in teaching and let students put their trust in you
  • excellent teaching is about exciting and empowering people, and requires focus and energy.

Successful teaching requires a level of physicality and involvement

  • space in the classroom can be used creatively; move around and keep the students interested and engaged; use the peripatetic (dynamic) mode rather than being static
  • active teaching is a performance, it is not just standing behind a lectern. But, of course, it is not just a performance.

Successful teaching requires a high level of organisation and preparation

  • a successful course requires upfront investment and reflection afterwards. Lectures and courses require preparation and constant updating
  • be clear with students about what is expected, what the criteria are, and how they will be assessed
  • keep consistent themes in lectures and tutorials and tie these explicitly to course objectives and assessments.

"A teacher needs a virtual tool box like a good builder with different examples and different stories depending on circumstances." - Professor Pak Yoong.

Colourful drawing of a man on a ladder with a toolbox

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