English Education Professor

I believe that good teaching is just good teaching, but here is a decent list of practices:
Effective Teaching

The following is a list of well documented best teaching practices that are useful in any kind of teaching/learning situation. They have been presented in this context to reinforce their importance in teaching students with disabilities.

• Be willing to be innovative.
• Stress accuracy rather than speed.
• Take an interest in individual students. Often a student who is experiencing difficulty will not ask for help. Arrange office hours for individual meetings and get to know students better.
• Make sure that the student knows what is expected and what you are going to contribute to their growth and development.
• When communicating with students, use a person-to-person approach. Try to be as specific as possible, using concrete terms and avoiding abstractions. Do not “talk down.” Whenever possible, extend sincere and honest praise, a vital factor in helping to develop individual worth and self-esteem for those who have disabilities.
• When asking students to respond to directions, be specific.
• Encourage questions from the class, and always ask if clarification is necessary on certain points. If there are confused faces, please respond.
• If possible, instead of giving lengthy assignments to be completed over long periods, divide the work into smaller sections, to be done in shorter periods of time. Be flexible in time allotment.
• Check frequently on the progress of assignments. Don’t leave it until the last moment.
• If an outside assignment is given, make sure the objectives are clear and are discussed on an individual basis. Make sure the directions are explicit and sequential.
• Encourage all class members to get involved in outside assignments and group activities.
• Try to involve multiple senses, especially for those who have low vision, or are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Use as many different visual stimuli as possible in the form of films, books, overheads, handouts, and field trips.

In teaching many skills, it is often necessary to do demonstrations, using the actual equipment and techniques. This is even more important when instructing persons who have disabilities. In certain situations, repetition and even slow motion may be necessary before the student is able to repeat the process. For example, a hands-on approach is especially important for students who are blind.

Planning a Lecture or Lab

• Always introduce new ideas or materials in a manner that leads from the simple to the complex.
• Try to relate the material to what the student already knows.
• Give a sequential talk and do not jump around with too many different ideas.
• Throughout the introduction to new material, pause now and then so that notes can be made, or technical aids can be adjusted; write as much information on the board or on an overhead as possible.
• Underline key points with different colours and accentuate them orally.
• Reintroduce important points at intervals.
• Refer to important pages in the textbook.
• All material should be reviewed as often as possible.