A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans by Thea Sabin

Author:Thea Sabin
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: wicca, pagan, paganism, handbook, sabin, thea sabin, ritual, learning, teaching, spiritual path, teaching methods, adult learners
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2012-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

[contents]

Teachers should unmask themselves—admit into consciousness the idea that one does not need to know everything there is to know, and one does not have to pretend to know everything there is to know.

Esther Rothman

Chapter 8

Giving a Great Presentation and Interacting with Students

The way in which you interact with your students can be as important as the information you’re passing along; in some cases, it can be even more important. This chapter is about putting on a great presentation to maximize student learning, using ethics and boundaries to create healthy relationships with students, and fostering a positive class climate.

Tips for Making an Effective Presentation

There are several things to think about when you’re presenting in front of a class, from how you speak to students and hold your body to how you monitor what’s going on in the class. Here are some tips to help you interact effectively with students during a class and knock your presentation out of the park.

Communicating with Students

Use names. Students will feel more at home with you and respond to you better if you learn and use their names. Learning and remembering names is difficult for some people. (I know it is for me!) Cheat, if you have to. If you’re doing a one-off class, have students fold a sheet of paper in half (into a “tent”), write their name on both sides, and place it on the table in front of them. Use the table tents to learn names quickly. You can also bring a drawing of the layout of the chairs in the classroom and write in names as you learn them.

Use active listening. See Chapter 5.

Don’t pontificate. Talk to your audience, not at them.

Define terms. Be sure to define any terms in your presentation that your audience might not be familiar with. If you’re teaching something with a lot of jargon, like astrology, you might want to write definitions on a flip chart or pass them out as a handout.

Get personal. If you can, and if it’s appropriate, add some personal anecdotes or stories to your presentation. People like to know that their teacher has “been there” and understands what it’s like to be a student. Brian Rowe talked about the importance of sharing personal experiences with students:

I also think it’s important to relay personal experiences about how different aspects of the path have worked as part of teaching. And those might be some very private thoughts or memories that you’re opening up to a new student, and you don’t know how they will react yet. But I think the only way that you can create long-term trust is through that sharing and openness.

Use repetition. Reviewing and repeating important concepts throughout the class can be very helpful for students, especially if you’re teaching a multi-session course. Don’t expect students to fully “get” the more complicated stuff after hearing it only once. Christopher Penczak states:

I find myself using repetition more and more. I think previously I assumed once I taught it, people got it

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