Time management
The most important part of teaching is that you are on time and you use your time to teach the course outline.
Micheal,
What are some strategies you use to get your students engaged in your classes?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
a lot of student come in to class very tiered and draging I am prepard but not them should I give them time to settle in or start the class when the bell rings
Christinia,
All of the elements are critical if an instructor is going to be respected by students as their learning leader. To do anything less is to be non-professional and unfair to the students enrolled in the class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As an instructor, you have to be the example, role model, and professional, at all times. coming unprepared, and late for class is not setting a good examples for your students. They will have the attitude like, "why should I come to class on time, my instructor don't". As an instructor you should manage your time wisely, Give yourself time to prepare for class by getting to work at least 30 minutes early. If the instructor comes to class prepared and on time, the students will tend to do the same.
I agree.. the attention span of most students fall within the range of 15-18 minutes. Therefore it is important to learn 'time management' within your course outline/lecture/observations to keep your student engaged in the course of study. When you keep a student engaged in learning, the better student retention.
Tina,
What incentives to they have to arrive on time? You need to set up a reward system for being prompt. You can give Professional Points or another way is to start the class and do an exercise that is very brief for which the students get points. I talk with my tardy students and tell them that when they come in late they are disrespecting themselves and the other members of the class because they disrupt class learning when they come in late. In extreme cases I have removed students from the class because I want them there on time because I am educating them to be productive workers and being on time is one of the requirements for success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I make it a point to always be early to class also, but many of my students do not follow this lead! Do you have any suggestions that might motivate them to arrive earlier than 5 minutes late?
GERAR,
Your last sentence says it all. You as the learning leader need to be organized,prepared and passionate about what you are teaching. These three efforts will result in engaged and focused students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am glad I came across this forum. Time management is the core of a good instructor. As long as we leave enough time to prepare ourselves, the way we come accross to our students will be much more direct and effective. I personally have seen the difference between being unprepared and prepared for a subject. When you are prepared the students learn to respect you as a learning leader.
ADELA,
One way would be to sit down and think about and list the essential content that students need to have exposure to. Then decide how that content could best be taught. How much should be lecture, how much case studies, small groups, discussions, student presentations, etc.. Then you will start to see exactly what preparation you need to make to be the learning leader for the new class.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When times is limited due to holding a full-time job and also teaching part time it is difficult to totally prepare into a new subject monthly, What is the best method even if one tries to prepare ahead of time on subject they have never taught.?
Patricia,
Right you are. This is a common problem for instructors. They let time get away from them in their planning and lectures and this can frustrate students and does not serve as a good model for them to follow.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think in many respects this is one of the most important attributes of a good instructor.
We can learn new content to be applied to our courses, but if we don't ourselves have good time management, the course will not go smoothly for ourselves, and, more importantly, for the students.
Terry,
Being on time and prepared sets the tone for a successful class. To be late and not prepared says to the students that an instructor does not care about them nor the field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
