Don't Be Afraid to Say I Don't Know

If you don't know an answer to a students question, find out! Don't try to guess, you'd be surprised at how often people actually pay attention when you say the wrong thing. Better yet, encourage the other students to get involved and if no one knows the answer, give bonus points to whomever in the class brings the correct answer the next day.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Most students do not enjoy writing papers. Some like making movies, others enjoy making posters, some like doing other types of presentations. Each of these examples is infinitely more fascinating than listen to someone recite a paper. If you give students the opportunity to be creative, they will most likely be creative and give you some reprieve from reading 20 five page papers.

Making History Relevant

"Why should I care about some dead guy?" This is a phrase too often heard by people who have a love of history. Although there are countless reasons why one should care, it is important to reach students on their level. If you can make history pertinent to their lives in the 21st century, not only will they pay more attention and give you better control of your classroom but they will have a better chance of retaining this information.

Blogs

Blogs will be a terrific source for students to look up classroom assignments for any details they may have forgotten. By having these details and other adjustments online for easy viewing, I can save time, energy and the environment.

Podcasts

With the appreciation for podcasts I gained over this semester, I foresee that they will be something I will utilize in my classroom. This technological tool will be ideal to keep the students current on the material if I must be absent.

Student-Teacher Interaction

I think building an atmosphere of mutual respect will be critical in having a successful classroom. I feel that one way to build a relationship of this nature is having genuine interaction with my students. I order to achieve this goal, I must go beyond that basic "What year was Jamestown settled?" type question and instead encourage my students to share their thoughts and ideas about history and ensure that they understand that their opinion is important to me. If people are respected enough to be able to say what they have to say then positive relationships can be forged.