Substitute Teacher Skills
SubSkills Part 2
Every substitute teacher must have a set of skills to use for managing students in the classroom.
However, not every substitute teacher has learned the 5 major skills necessary to become an excellent
substitute teacher as presented in the SubSkills Online Training Course and
the Substitute Teacher Handbook.
Consider the following statements that relate to substitute teaching:
| Question |
Answer |
| What is the #1 requested skill that substitute teachers want to learn? |
The ability to handle 94% of all classroom/behavior situations. |
| What is the #1 trait of a successful substitute teacher? |
The use of a SubPack or resource kit. |
| What is the #1 skill requested by permanent teachers and school personnel of substitute teachers? |
The ability to function as a professional substitute teacher. |
| What is the #1 skill requested by students of substitute teachers? |
The ability to present stimulating lessons and fill-in activities. |
Increasing your proficiency in the following skill areas as a substitute teacher improves your teaching skills,
increases your confidence level, and enables you to more easily meet the goal of your role as a substitute teacher:
Utilizing the skills in these areas will help you becom more effective as a substitute teacher in maintaining
good learning environment for the students. Providing you with a positive substitute teaching experience as well
as providing your students a quality day of instruction.
Effective classroom and behavior management skills are essential for your success as a substitute teacher in the classroom.
As you come to understand and implement the substitute teaching skills taught in Chapter One of the
Substitute Teacher Handbook
and included in the SubSkills Online Training Course,
you will increase your ability to effectively manage the classroom environment and direct student behavior.
The following five substitute teaching skills for effectively managing student behavior are based on the
basic principles of human behavior:
|
Skill 1:
|
The ability to get and keep students on-task.
|
|
Skill 2:
|
The ability to maintain a high rate of positive teacher-to-student interactions and risk-free student response
opportunities.
|
|
Skill 3:
|
The ability to teach expectations.
|
|
Skill 4:
|
The ability to respond noncoercively.
|
|
Skill 5:
|
The ability to avoid being trapped.
|
As a substitute teacher you will likely face the challenge of trying to implement lesson plans left by the
permanent teacher that are either incomplete or outside of your area of expertise.
Proficiency in the substitute teaching strategies demonstrated in the
SubSkills Online Training Course and outlined in Chapter Two of the
Substitute Teacher Handbook enables you to comfortably face many of the
challenges during a substitute teaching assignment. Strategies for presenting the permanent teacher’s lesson plans
include:
- Brainstorming
- Concept Mapping
- K-W-L
- Cooperative Learning
- Questioning
- Effective Implementation of Audio Visual Materials
Being a professional substitute teacher is a full-time job and involves many aspects of attitude and conduct.
Research
conducted by the Substitute Teaching Institute at Utah State University shows that permanent teachers,
district personnel, and school administrators unanimously praise and value
substitute teachers who are professional in attitude, dress, and presentation.
It is important for you as a substitute teacher to learn and implement
the various areas of professionalism in the following time frames:
- At Home
- Prior to Entering the Classroom
- In the Classroom Before School
- Throughout the Day
- At the End of the Day
Specific situations and skills for professional substitute teachers are presented in the
SubSkills Online Training Course and
detailed in Chapter Three of the Substitute Teacher Handbook.
Over five million children in the United States have been identified as having a specific weakness such as a learning
disability, mental retardation, autism, or emotional disturbance that necessitates some type of special instruction.
Teachers of these students need substitute teachers who can fill in for them when they must be out of the classroom.
When you work in special education settings as s substitute teacher, you have the opportunity to improve the
lives of children with disabilities,
as well as work in a variety of service locations. When you are armed with a general knowledge of the situations
you may be called upon to work in, as well as the basic skills necessary for success in the special education classroom,
you are well prepared for any classroom as a substitute teacher.
Chapter Four of the Substitute Teacher Handbook provides an extensive (yet brief!)
overview of what to expect when working with students with special needs. The same information is found in the
SubSkills Online Training Course. In addition to the classroom management skills
and teaching strategies learned earlier in the training model, the following skills specific to special education should
be mastered:
- Having an Attitude of Respect
- Working with Paraprofessionals
- Being Familiar with Special Education Terms and Laws
- Continuing Instruction
- Adapting Lessons and Activities
- Knowing Students and Meeting All Their Needs
The information provided in the SubSkills Online Training Course
and included in Chapter Five of the Substitute Teacher Handbook is
a compilation of important information substitute teachers should be familiar with prior to taking charge of a classroom. Briefly
stated, it covers a variety of legal and educational issues that you may face during a substitute teaching assignment, such as:
- Safe Schools Policies
- First Aid and Safety
- Legal Aspects of the Job
- Child Abuse Reporting
- Sexual Harassment
- Gifted and Talented Students
- Multiculturism
- Alternative Learning Styles
- Evacuation and other Out-of-Classroom Activities
Each district/school has a unique set of policies and procedures related to the legal and educational issues mentioned
above. It is important that you take the initiative and make the effort necessary to become familiar with the policies
unique to your district/school.
Substitute teachers frequently face situations that require filling unexpected time in the classroom.
Whether the permanent teacher was unable to leave lesson plans for the day, the plans left are impossible to decipher,
or the activities requested by the teacher are too short for the time available, an effective substitute teacher is
prepared with manageable and meaningful activities to provide students with an active and worthwhile day of learning.
The SubSkills Online Training Course contains electronic versions of
all of the fill-in activities
found in Chapter Six of the Substitute Teacher Handbook.
The Fill-In Activities are ordered in the following categories:
|
Five-Minute Fillers
|
Whole-class, teacher directed activities designed to fill the few extra minutes that may occur throughout
the school day.
|
|
Early Finishers
|
Activities for individual students who finish assignments early.
|
|
Short Activities
|
These activities may be completed in 20 to 40 minutes. These activities are grouped by content area and
often may be modified for use as Five-Minute Fillers or Early Finishers, as well as adapted for students
with special needs or accelerated learners.
|