I need to be more enthusiastic about my subject matter. This enthusiams will relay to the students and make them want to be more perceptive.
I could not agree more. No matter how long or how many times I have presented a class it always ends up presented in new and different ways. I encourage students to bring into our classroom discussion their clinical experiences. As a class, we discuss how the educational material was or should have been applied in this clinical situation. It's a great way of keeping the subject material "real" and meaningful.
i like to use a lot of feed back from the students to make sure whati teach them translates to what they can use. the way i bring this to them helps give the students a sense of worth in the class room, thus building up my currancy as a person that they would want to emulate.
I plan on observing other, more experienced instructors and seeing how they conduct their classes. I will attend workshops and conferences to gain more insight on the different instructional styles. Also, I need to see which ones of those will work for me personally.
That sound good. You can alway improve your instruction and getting students informal feedback you apply that knowledge right away.
I like observing other teacher's classrooms, subject matter, and grade. Here I can get ideas to add to my classroom activities.
I have the hands on experience,I now need to familiarize myself with the content to boost my confidence level,presenting to the class a more knowledgeable and confident instructor
Doris,
Oh, yes I agree! Varity is the spice of life & teaching!
Melanie
I would like to incorporate more interactive learning. I feel that especially in my area of education that the students need more deomnstration and hands on class participation.
I truly believe that "that which we learn without mirth we forget without regret." I always try to have fun teaching and help my students to enjoy what they are learning, no matter the subject. Even at the risk of performing. The more boring the content the bigger the spectacle needs to be.
One of the things I see frequently on instructor evaluations is that students appreciate variety from the instructor. I try to vary my teaching style as the subject matter permits and engage students in their learning. Lecture, group projects, mini case studies, student presentation, a take-home or oral test every once in awhile, etc. help to keep student interest.
I teach Medical Coding and Billing and my favorite scenarios to code are the mini case studies presented in our texts. They make students pull out relevant information and apply it by coding it correctly. Students love to work in groups on assignments.
Sounds interesting . . . At what point in a five-week module would you suggest this idea be implemented?
I absolutely agree with preparation. Each time I teach a class, I prepare for it even though I may have taught the class multiple times before. I learn something new to present each time I review the designated material.
In my expperience and validated by student evaluations, personal examples work with some, while others find them off topic. While I welcome THEIR personal examples, I have learned to try to limit my own.
My confidence improves each time the students do well in the classroom. I use that as a measure that my message was well sent. And I LOVE using PowerPoint to illustrate my lectures.
Hi Stephanie,
Welcome to the profession of teaching. I wish you much success in this effort. I have been teaching for many years and find I still have great joy in working with students and as a result can't think of any other career I would rather be in.
You have laid out some very good ideas for how to develop your professional skills. Keep learning, observe others and seek improvement always and you will be surprised at how quickly teaching will become a part of who you are.
Gary
Hi John,
Clear examples just like the one you mentioned are good ways to get the students engaged. Sharing stories about your own experiences in using the course content really gets the students focused as well. The more you can show application and relevancy to the students the higher the content retention is going to be.
Gary
Hi Doris,
Good strategies. My students really like to do case studies. Have you found this to be true for your students as well?
Gary
I have a few techniques that I have started to implement one being I do a Stop, Start, Continue form in each of my classes. I ask the students what they would like me to stop, start doing, and what they liked that I should continue to do.
