Instructions (practice)

Today, I want to share my observations on giving instructions. It is crucial for teachers to be able to give clear instructions so that students understand what is expected from them. The teacher, who I observe, really take an effort to communicate clearly what students need to do. Below, I will share with you the example of the teacher's instructions. 

The teacher starts with the warm-up, in which as a whole class, they talk about the topic of the lesson and then, the teacher summarises what is going to happen. For example, 'today, you are going to work with some pictures. What do we have here? The first task for you is to take your portfolios and cut out those pictures.' Children start questioning about the next steps. The teacher informs them by saying 'I will tell you later'. Some students seemed to be lost, so the teacher starts again 'the first task is to take portfolios, then I will give you pictures and you will cut them.' And the teacher continues 'take your portfolios and come back to your place'. When children are ready the teacher explains 'now, take something to cut, take something to write. If you are ready, please give me a sign. Are you ready? Who is ready? So, what we are going to do? You need to cut out those pictures and stick it in your portfolios. And then you need to write what you make out of those products. So, if you have an egg. Pancakes, what else? You will write your own examples. You will have four products, ok? What you can make out of those products.' And then, the teacher adds in Polish 'cut, stick and write'. Children are given a choice 'you can do it individually or you can discuss it'. Next, the teacher checks students' comprehension. 'Do you understand the task? What do you do with pictures? What do you do next?' Children respond and the teacher informs that they have 15 minutes to do the task and puts the timer so students can control how much time they have. Children are ensured that they can ask questions if they don't remember how to write something. 

However, despite those clear instructions, simplifying and repeating them, giving one instruction at the time and checking students' comprehension, some children still were confused and asked what they need to do. So, the teacher again explained the task. As you can see, teachers need to be very patient. The teacher had to say the instructions many times, simplify them and give examples so that children truly understand the task. Therefore, teachers should remember to be explicit and do not expect to much at the same time. Children should be given time to focus on one step and then, move on to the next one. By giving clear instructions, the lesson is more likely to go smoothly, the possibility of misunderstandings are reduced and children are aware about the teacher's expectations. 

Do you have any tips about giving clear instructions and staying patient while teaching?

Angelika :)