Understanding oneself as an instructor displays levels of confidence and competence in ones field. This sends a positive and strong message to the student learner; establishing a level of trust that the student will come away with a greater understading of the material and how to apply the information gained to his or her career.
Hi James:
Sure. It makes sense to more preparation where our weaker areas might be. Sometimes a teacher may not be awrae they have a need (blind spot) so until that's identified, the weakness will remain. Being open to opposing viewpoints, peer review, even sitting in another's class for a time can open the eyes of someone who is blind to one particular area. Unless they see it and they are willing change, it won't be realized.
Regards, Barry
Amanda:
Good post. I think students like stories and when you can relate something from your past or work experience to the course, it's likely to be remembered and the information retained.
I also think a real key is to learn to be natural, which will come off as smooth and confident. Trying to act or teach, or project something we're not won't be effective as just being ourselves, in whatever version that comes in!
Regards, Barrfy
It is important to understand yourself so you can see where you can impove in some areas and where you do well at. The better the understanding you do have of yourself as a leader the better you can give the information to the students. I like to use a lot of my life experiences in my teaching. The students get a break from the book and they ask more questions in regards to the career choice they have made.
Shalika:
I believe all good teachers have at their core some internal desire to be helpful, to share something they have with others, in short, to care, as you state in your post. With that, we can motivate, encourage, stimulate and display interest, and create in students a desire to learn, and provide a basis for lifelong learning too.
Regards, Barry
It is important for you to know yourself because being aware of your own strengths and weaknesses gives you time to prepare additional resources in the areas that you need assistance. The areas where you are more capable will need less focus time and you can allot more of your availability to the subject matter that needs the most work. Being honest with yourself in these areas is very important because students can sense nervousness and/or a lack of confidence and if you go into a classroom setting unprepared they may take advantage of that fact.
Hi Barry. First let me say that in order for me to enlighten others on material that I am presenting, I need to know and understand that this particular field of teaching is something that I am passionate about. I can honestly say that I am definitely a caretaker. I listen and empathize well with others. I love the ideas and advanced technology that Healthcare has provided to millions of people. Thus, allowing me to share and expound my knowledege on healthcare in the field that I teach.
Hi Mariann:
Great. It is only when a teacher is sincer and honest with themselves, and then is willing to do what is necessary to change will change occur. This seems to be a true principle with many habits, behaviors, or attitudes in life, eh?
Regards, Barry
Hi Darlene:
I think every teacher probably has some degree of wanting to improve. It can be that trouble spots or weaker areas are not recognized by the teacher, so improvement will never occur.
I believe there also has to be some degree of willingness to want to improve, and that means facing facts that may not be so pleasant. Then the question becomes to what degree is the teacher willing to be honest with themselves, and, put in the effort to make the needed changes. It takes a really mature, self assured and confident individual to make these difficult choices.
Regards, Barry
I agree we have student and instructor assessments at the school I work at that covers these matters.
Mariann U
Hi Roger:
Sometimes, what a teacher feels they are strong or do very well can be off base. This is where having peer review, classroom observation, student assessments can be helpful.
If an individual is really serious, they can get online assessment, or even pay for more formal (and perhaps accurate) assessment for personality type, learning/teaching styles, and traits that reflect strong and/or weaker areas someone my choose to focus on for improvement.
Regards, Barry
If you are an advocate of continuous improvement as I am, you need to understand the things that you do well, and the things you do not do as well. That way you can focus on improving the things that you do not do as well.
By understanding yourself, you will be able to work improve on your weak areas. Our ability to improve will lead to a better learning experience for our students.
Hi Mariann:
Good. Most courses ask the students to perform some version of a mid or end of course assessment that should address how the teacher performed (or not), and possibly areas that could be improved. Anything negative should be viewed for consideration, validity, and a possible source of an area needing improvement.
Regards, Barry
I agree wholeheartedly. We can learn from our students and our previous mistakes. We can implement corrections of these mistakes for future students. We need to be open-minded. We can learn a lot from our students when we ask them for suggestions and carry these suggestions to our future classes.
Mariann U
Hi Andrew:
Good, and I agree that we can help more of our students when we can utilize all of our known abilities to the maximum. As educators, we should always be strive for self improvement - truely, this is a lifelong pursuit.
Regards, Barry
Self-reflection is always important in any professional endeavor. It allows us to capitalize on our strengths and work on our weaknesses. It also helps us make sure we are giving different types of students opportunities to learn in our class.
Hi Jeanne:
I think it's natural for us to do and display waht we feel we're best at. Relying soley on our strengths misses an opportunity to really utilize all of our talents, because weaker areas are simply challenges we have to overcome through experience, training, trial and error, and time. But once those challenges are overcome, they may manefest in the most awesome strengths we would have never imagined. That's why I think good teachers are always striving to do better at every opportunity.
Regards, Barry
Hi Detra:
Whoa...self destruction? I hope you're feeling good about knowing yourself! :-)
But you're right. We all have natural strenghts and probably tend to avoid or ignore weaker areas. Good teachers will want to continuously work towards improvement on both fronts. Such a willingness will not only make us better teachers but assist our students in becaming the best they can be as well.
Regards, Barry
If I know myself with my strengths and weaknesses I can play to my strenghths and work to improve my weaknesses. I can also use this knowledge to help me relate better to a wide variety of students with various personalities and learning styles.
