Top Problems of New Teachers
and Solutions
Problems and Solutions
Not enough time for work
No time for personal life
No matter what, take time for yourself, you will be a better teacher.
Isolation
Find a mentor.
Teacher-centered classrooms
Teacher centered classrooms are more stressful, difficult, and less successful.
Derived from the Advice of Experienced Teachers
Say "no" to everything you possibly can in your first year,
including clubs, coaching a sport, workshops, or other commitments.
Get suggestions from other teachers. Do not reinvent the wheel.
Do not try to change the world in your first year as a teacher.
Let students help you.
Use resources.
Don't take your work home.
Take a personal day when you need it and sit by the pool.
Take time to reflect, which improves your teaching and lowers stress.
Go to local meetings and organize lesson "share-a-thons."
Work as a group in your department
Use the Listservs or literature to read about other teacher's
ideas and experiences or ask your own questions.
Be a science advocate in your community, be involved in fairs,
contests, and other community-building events.
Teacher as "guide by the side, not the sage on the stage"
Inquiry methods.
No lecturing.
Do not feel pressured to have the answer to every queston.
Be willing to say "I don't know, let's find out!"
Start lessons with discovery and exploration activities to inspire
curiosity and bring out prior conceptions.
Students design their own experiments.
Sometimes assign students to develop lessons and teach.
Student discussions.
Questioning techniques.
Hands on activities.