In a college setting, you often see students that are decades apart in ages. We have "fresh out of high school" students as well as "seasoned professionals" that need more skills or someone who is changing careers. All of those factors make for a wide variety of needs and learning styles. Knowing that they are paying for each minute of the class, I try to utilize differnet instructional techniques to make sure I reach everyone. I study the class on the first day or two to see what are the needs of my students and make sure they know how to approach me in case I have missed or misread their needs. Open door policy is one of the best ones for an open communication. I always tell my students, that if they ever have a question or a problem, to speak to me as soon as they can, so that the issue does not escalate. I also encourage them to ask questions during lectures to make sure they keep up with the material and feel like they are active participants. I reamind them that the lectures are for them, not for me, so it is their time to ask questions if they need to.
Asking students what they already know (prior learning)regarding the course and adapt your instructional styles to gear towards the different levels in the classroom. Ask your students how they learn best and incorporate the different learning styles into your lesson plans. Be cognizant of the fact that the way you learn may be the way you tend to teach and you will need to engage different methods to reach all level learners. You may also observe other experienced teachers in the classroom to get new ideas and have an effective professional development plan they will not only enhance your strength areas but improve your areas of limitations.
I use power point presentations, group discussions, and field trips to help the students learn.
Hi Albert,
You have a great professional development list here. You have touched on the key components of instructional delivery and student interaction. I wish you the best as you work through this list.
Gary
Some techniques I can employ to improve my instructional style are as follws:
1) to make sure That I fully understand the material that I will presenting.
2) to make sure that I am using all A/V materials in a proper and professional manner.
3) to make sure that I am not lecturing too fast where the students cannot take notes effectively.
4) to thoroughly enjoy what I am teaching.
5) to make sure that the students are engaged and on the same pasge as I am at all times.
The techniques that I employ to further develop, refine and enhance my instructional style are learning, listening and observing.
As a librarian, I am always interested in "learning more"! That is my nature. To explore and understand multiple subjects is fun to me.
Another approach I have found effective is to listen and observe. This has allowed me to see the impact and processing of questions posed to groups and helped refine my style.
To me the whole process is fluid or on-going, so I never feel like I am at a "perfect instructional style" state.
Fran
I need to pursue more outside learning, more certifications and attend some educational conferences.
Finding the time in always the challenge
Our classes contain students of all ages from those that are just out of high school to many that are changing career after many years in the work force. Sometimes being able to effectively teach to such a wide age range can be very frustrating.
Hi Kathleen,
Way to go in claiming a "difficult" course as your own. You are stamping your personality on the course and modifying it so it has value to your students. This is the sign of a dedicated educator and I commend you for your efforts.
Gary
I have recently taken over a new course that is a requirement for graduation, but has a "bad reputation" on campus for being irrelevant and a waste of time and money. The previous instructor didn't establish his credibility with the class or vary his teaching style at all. His approach was to distribute a bunch of handouts and let the students learn on their own. Maybe OK for a bachelor program in an academic environment, but not for an associates degree in a career college.
I have a much different Day 1 approach in that I establish myself and the course well. The course is at the end of the program, just before the students go on externship. I am working on adjusting my stlye to vary methods and include more activities that tie in previous coursework. My hope is that students begin to understand that they've learned the basic "building blocks" in other courses and se how those skills are being enhanced at this new, higher level.
It takes a lot of tapdancing to keep them motivated, but so far it seems to be working. I'm currently teaching the new class for the third time and the response I'm getting is much better from these students than from my first or second group.
Hi Philip,
This is a good thing for everyone. Your students have the benefit of having the content on line and you get to see how you presented. You then can review it for improvement.
Gary
I often record my class sessions. They are then placed on line so students that are traveling or missed class can review the lecture, activities and interaction. I have found this is a very effective way of getting to know yourself, reflecting, and certainly observing both good and bad habits.
Hi Matt,
There is nothing wrong with "stealing" good ideas. They just make your classes better. We use the CASE model here at my college. Copy And Share Everything. By not trying to reinvent the wheel we have time to do more planning on the areas that need improvement since we can use methods others have developed in the general areas.
Gary
Peer review is important to me. I want to hear feedback, both positive and negative regarding how I teach. This, to me, is my own form of pretest. I want my peers to have an idea of what I do in the classroom so that they have a baseline for giving me feedback.
I also like watching other instructors teach. Not just in my subject matter either, but other instructors at my school. Coming from K-12 public education it has been reinforced over the years that the best teachers "steal" any good things they see happening in other classrooms.
Hi Gail,
It is great you get to teach such a course because you can build a solid foundation for your students with the discussions you have with them. Student bonding is important as they collectively work toward creating a future for themselves.
Gary
My instructional style is more interactive. I feel that the class I teach lends itself to more of a participation style. The course content relates to motivation, change and strategies for success. It's always educational to learn from one another. I find that when students can bond on a certain level it translates to success in the classroom.
Developing good questions; making sure my questions are open-ended, giving students the ability to think out of the box.
Hi Gail,
Good plan. The more you can learn about the cognitive processing of learners the more accurately you will be able to plan your instruction. Blending content and activities is an excellent way of helping students to hear, see, remember new content. This then leads to application and that is what we are trying to do with our students.
Gary
Interactive/collaborative
I work on campus as well as teach a couple of courses in the General Education Department, and have found that my knowledge of the student population as well as some of the unique challenges they have in their personal lives has benefitted me greatly in the classroom. I try to encourage "out of the box" thinking in my classes so as to create a classroom that is not what students are used to, i.e., lecturing and writing. I find that what works for one class doesn't necessarily work for another. Consequently I am always in search of an activity, an exercise, a discussion or any other resource to reach the majority of the class to encourage discussion and to bring to light the reasons why students have chosen to enroll in college. The techniques I have chosen have been to search in Internet for advice and "tips" as well as talk to more "seasoned" instructors to find different things that work.
