(40 of 50) CLT & Taiwan: 2nd Sign about a ‘Teacher’ Which Should Make You Worried: Part (iii)

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Six Signs Which Should Make You Worried About a ‘Teacher’: 2nd Sign [Part iii]

Sign That You Should Be Worried 2

The school or teacher only uses a whiteboard.

So, let’s continue with the third (and final) posts about the use of whiteboards versus PowerPoint. In the last post, I mentioned that the efficient and modern ‘powerpoint’ teacher can prepare a much more effective and thoughtful ‘CLT’ response on PowerPoint, together with pictures and interactive features to help students learn better.

There are two points about this you must also think about.

Point One

As I mentioned, such careful preparation on powerpoint allows much better teaching/learning in the classroom, compared to a sudden ‘talk and chalk’ on a whiteboard. Think about it. A planned and prepared response is much better by definition.

Point Two

If a teacher keeps doing this (and saving the PowerPoints on his computer or memory stick), then that teacher gathers an invaluable resource to answer any such future questions. That teacher can even proactively prepare for these future questions.

Then, as the years pass, the teacher will have an increasingly bigger and better resource to use for ANY questions that happens in the classroom, virtually every question that can be asked.

And by the way, I’ve been doing this for over 12 years. Click on the following links

Teacher’s PowerPoint Slides

… to see some of my powerpoint presentations. You will see that there are ‘Index’ slides (Master Hyperlink Slide, Writing Task Two Index Slide, Writing Task One Index Slide), Grammar Slides (IELTS Grammar Issues Slide), and you will see the ability to put amazing pictures to help teach vocabulary, grammar, or just get speaking going.

Did you look carefully at the ‘index slides’? I just push any one of the buttons, and an amazingly detailed and wonderfully prepared explanation can be given to the students. Do any of your teachers have this?

So, if your teachers just ‘talk and chalk’, think: who do they care most about: the students, or themselves? Think about why they aren’t using the technology which has been available for over 15 years (or longer). And think about how much are you paying these teachers for the class? And think about whether you are actually learning? Finally, ask yourself the following questions.

  • Don’t you think you deserve better than ‘talk and chalk’?
  • Is that a real teacher in front of you?
  • Are you sure?

It’s a very worrying sign, don’t you think?

Why do these people do this?

The answer: because so many students don’t care, and give them lots of money.

The next post will consider the 3rd sign which should worry you.

Now, check that you know the meaning of the underlined vocabulary (also repeated below).

  • to be invaluable (adj)
  • to be proactive (adj)
  • virtually (adv)
  • an index (n)

If you want to find out more about me, go to aisielts.com .