Is it enough to be knowledgeable about a subject to teach it properly? No, there is no guarantees that your students will learn anything! Making yourself an effective teacher in the classroom involves accepting the many intellectual and relational challenges that teaching entails. It is by taking into account the teaching context, students’ achievements, the program of choice and the skills or objectives, that the teacher is able to determine in detail what and how to teach. As such, being knowledgeable about a subject is not enough : it is also necessary to learn how to teach it.

This book offers teachers ways to do just that. It also addresses, within the limits of the teacher’s role, the important relationship that they must build with each of their students.

This book is meant to allow new teachers, lecturers or professors, to get accustomed to the various dimensions of teaching in a self-directed way. Each chapter can be approached in any order depending on the reader’s concerns or the aspects of their practice they wish to improve. The first two chapters, however, are a necessary read in all circumstances as they cover basic knowledge required for a good grasp on the book’s content.

Each chapter promotes the development of a reflective practice by guiding the reader toward a preliminary reflection on his initial conceptions. The end of the chapter then provides a summary of the emerging ideas for a renewal of the reader’s practice.

Experienced teachers may also draw from this collective work new ideas to refresh their teaching or solve modern problems, such as the use of technology to teach or the increased presence of students with learning disabilities in the classroom.

Year: 2014

Authors: Louise Ménard, Lise St-Pierre