Being Organize when its your first time teaching?
What is the Best advice that anyone could give
when its your first time teaching before a live class? Any advice please
Carmen,
Be creative and keep trying out new strategies as this is how you expand your instructional expertise. Observing other instructors is a great way to learn a lot in a short span of time.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
This is good advice! I have been teaching for a year now and am far from an expert. I really like the idea of observing others. It seems like it would be very helpful to get new techniques that would work with students to keep the material fresh! I constantly change the way I teach and the assessments that I use in order to TRY to be the best instructor I can be. The best laid plans do not always work :)
Dr. Gary,
Thanks for this great advice. Be prepared and be human. You have the experience and expertise to be the instructor. Take that confidence into the classroom in relaxed manner and you will do fine.
Don't try to be someone you aren't. Project your personality into the classroom.
Thank you! I have found out that teaching is like anything else in life. It takes practice. Now that my class has started I find myself reflecting on the day. I think about what I liked and what I feel I need to change for next time. My confidence has also started to increase. :)
It is very important to be a positive role model and professional one!
Be confident and organized. Always be a positive role model. Show your students that you care about them. Give lots of encouragement.
Hi Kylie,
I began teaching when I was 24. I had a lot of ideas about what I wanted to do differently in the classroom, but I quickly found that I reverted to a pretty boring lecture style when I was nervous.
What I found most helpful to prepare for teaching was to create a timed outline of what topics I planned to lecture about, complete with a page of what I would write on the board and the main points I wanted the students to be able to retain after the lecture. Then I found that the other really helpful activity was going to another class where the same subject was being taught and observing another teacher. It reminded me of what was really important versus what information was interesting but perhaps not as crucial.
After that, it just takes practice. If you have an opportunity to teach with a partner who can give you feedback or support, that's a great way to learn to teach as well.
Teaching something I thought I knew often highlighted how little I really understood. Good luck! And don't be too hard on yourself.
Thank you. This advice has really been useful to me. My main concern with teaching my first group of learners is that I will not be taken seriously because of my age. I am in my early 20s and I really want to make sure that my class has confidence in me and my instruction. I will keep your advice about staying organized and confident in mind on the first day of class!
Hi Sharda,
Be prepared and be human. You have the experience and expertise to be the instructor. Take that confidence into the classroom in relaxed manner and you will do fine.
Don't try to be someone you aren't. Project your personality into the classroom.
Best of all advice is always, always have a sense of humor because you are going to need it as an instructor.
I wish you much teaching success. The rewards are worth all of the effort. You are creating a legacy of well trained next generation of individuals entering our field. That is a wow factor for sure.
Gary
