25 Biggest Mistakes Teachers Make and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 12: Inappropriate Classroom Policies
Rational teachers realize that there
are no “stupid” questions if a child
does not understand. Different people
process information in different ways.
They selectively attend to some in coming
information and ignore other
information. Most important is that
they perceive information in different
ways. Considering the differences in
information processing, it is understandable
that a student could mis understand
some instruction or confuse
it with information that was learned
previously. Experienced teachers try
to cultivate a classroom environment
that is conducive to learning and
asking questions. Truly perceptive
SCENARIO 12.14
Help Wanted
teachers can read students’ body
language and anticipate that they
have a question and ask those students
if they understand. Teachers
should exercise caution using this
approach, being careful not to call on
any one student too often, lest it suggests
that the student is slower or
less capable than are other students.
The best strategy for teachers is to
flirt with uncertainty and invite
questions, but be willing to admit it
when they do not know the answer.
They can always tell the students
they will try to find the answer later,
or they can find the answer as a
class.
I did not understand how to subtract and no one was willing to work with me.
A brief scenario such as this one
is deceptively complex because
of its simplistic form. This student’s
unanswered plea for help has profound
underpinnings of “academic
negligence.” The teacher was negligent
in that she was responsible for
helping her students acquire and
understand new concepts and obviously
she did not do that. Experienced
teachers review prerequisite knowledge
before they attempt to teach
new concepts. They teach the concept
or idea and follow up by trying to
SCENARIO 12.15
Off on a Tangent
ascertain if everyone understands.
This probing can be accomplished
by questioning students about their
understanding of the new material. If
there seems to be some confusion or
misunderstanding, skilled teachers
have a repertoire of instructional techniques
to provide alternative ways of
imparting knowledge. If some students
still do not understand the material
after repeated attempts to teach the
new material, good teachers will work
with them one-on-one to help students
learn the new information.
My tenth-grade algebra teacher—I never learned anything in that class because all we
did was to try to get him talking about other things. Because of this, I feel that I didn’t
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