Young Instructors
Any advice for young instructors that may, at times, have students older than them. As far as keeping it professional.
Joshua,
You are bringing your passion for your field to the classroom/lab along with your enthusiasm for teaching about it. This is what your students are observing and so they will catch the excitement of what you are teaching. As for your question about teaching along side another instructor with different methods and approaches there is no one clear answer because you want to maintain a relationship with that instructor yet make sure your students are receiving accurate content. One way to work in a team teaching situation is to break the course content into topics that will be covered by each instructor. If possible those topics should be the ones that each instructor is most comfortable with. You mentioned two approaches to cooking brownies and how to handle the two different perspectives on this. I would suggest that you might want to see what the most commonly used method is in the field and set that as the method that will be used when instructing students. This way it moves the differences away from one instructor and puts it on to the field as the most common best practice. There is not simple way to handle this because personalities are involved so it must be approached very carefully so a professional relationship is not destroyed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Im a young instructor and new to the teaching side of my profession. Its all about your confidence and knowledge but better yet your experience in the field your teaching. They will respect you even if their is a remarkable difference in age. I enjoy spreading my knowledge and love for what i do and if i can teach it in way that they understand or should i say if i can turn them into sponges then i succeeded! Thanks for a great topic to cover. One question i have is; how to work along side another instructor who teaches a different method that is not the same result. For example, cooking brownies with 1 egg vs 2 eggs makes the difference between a cake like substance or a fudgy type. A brownie is known for its fudginess so it wouldnt be about preference or a different way. A standard is a standard correct? Thanks a ton. Josh
Mallory,
Be organized, prepared and professional in all that you do. Being professional involves dress, language, conduct and leadership. When you approach the classroom this way your older students will see you as the learning leader and will respect you for your knowledge and teaching. In return you should respect them for their life experiences and be willing to draw those experiences out of the students and show them how their life experiences can help them in the class. This sets up a win win situation for you an younger instructor and they older learners.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
