“TEACHING METHODS FOR INSPIRING THE STUDENTS OF THE FUTURE”

Teaching with inspiration and having choices for the students is a great way to
have a better future for students, rather than teaching with pressure and without
inspiration. In this video entitled “Teaching methods for inspiring the students of the
future” by Mr. Joe Ruht in TEDxLafayette explained and emphasized the main five
things about how to inspire students. Joe Ruht also said in his video about his 37 years
of teaching taught him that two things are needed: Research-Based teaching
techniques and Relationships. This research suggests that teachers must inspire and
give role models on how to become humble and better people. Additionally, that teacher
has to know each of his students’ characteristics.

Research-Based teaching approach, students actively search for and then use
multiple resources, materials, and text to explore important, relevant, and interesting
questions and challenges, and this kind of technique is great as they build reading skills
and vocabulary. And the relationship between the teacher and the students is that
teachers feedback to students to support their feelings of competence and teachers
who know their students’ interests and preferences and show regard and respect for
these individual differences, bolster students’ feelings of autonomy.

Now, Mr. Ruht admitted that he loves lecturing, but his students don’t always love
it, it does not always inspire them. He affirms that through observing his students going
to the cafeteria he could realize that kids love Choices. And so he converted his
classroom to a situation where students' choice was a big part of the room along with
four other Cs: (Collaboration, Communication, Critical thinking, and Creativity). Ten
years ago, the National Education Association identified those last four Cs on the list as
essential 21st-century skills that kids should learn, and he agrees wholeheartedly. He
has just added CHOICES to the top of the list not as a skill for kids to learn, but rather as
a characteristic of the classroom. By choice, he means a situation where many learning
activities are available to students, designed to meet the many diverse learning styles
that they have.

Mr. Joe Ruht says that a teacher may experiment with a paradox by removing
he/she from the centre and becoming less important in a way. However, in reality,
he/she will become more important by working as a guide on the side, and the teacher is
free up to use the most powerful teaching techniques in the classroom. “It doesn’t
matter what techniques are used; these two always work. I’m talking about two lovers’
said Joe Ruth. That a teacher should love and have a passion for his subject and work.
On the other hand, a teacher should have genuine love towards his students. In this
part, Ruth remembers an experience being a third-grade schoolboy. His teacher said to
him and his classmate to read a 10-minute story daily. And now, she inspired him to be
a reader nowadays. He also quoted Lewis by saying that “Agape love” is the highest
love above all.

Significant learning will occur when the students are involved directly in the
learning process (5Cs), and he believes that students are not only learning but also
enjoying the classroom atmosphere and even being inspired. The classroom
atmosphere covered by 5Cs will shift from teacher-centred to student-centred and this
requires teachers’ effort to eliminate the teacher paradigm who is always in front of the
class as an information centre to be a facilitator and accompanying students to learn
even not only accompanying but maintaining and inspiring. Remember Albert Einstein
did not learn from facts but thinking exercises.

Student-centred learning is more fell to humanize students, because students are

more recognized for conducting learning activities according to their interests, skills, and
capacity, by the learning plan. The teacher can adjust the condition by collaborating with
students who are active with less active students. Students' personalities are also
diverse, subsequently, the teacher can review from the perspective of the student's
personality before implementing learning, thus, students who are less active with active
students can exchange information and help each other.
 Joe Ruht concluded the discussions about five teaching methods which can
inspire students about a better future, and explain how to create significant learning,
which can inspire students to achieve success.