I am a technical instructor in the motor cycle field it is a constant chalange to stay up on the latest and greatest in the new modles. Our school has a lot of training opturnies to keep us trained on new things. Occasonley the sky does fall, and you just take a deep breath and pick up the peices and press on.One challange is when you have 30 students all ready for sign offs in lab at the same time. Just try and not show frustration and tke it one student at a time.
Things change. As an instructor, it is necessary to constantly train and retrain on the topics that you teach. As things change, whether improved or deteriorated, the methods that you teach with must change. Maybe the content that once was easily understood is now very complicated and boring. New methods have to be instituted by the instructors to regain the minds of their students to allow the learning process to continue. Also keep in mind that the class needs to flow smoothly to avoid those "The Sky is Falling!" moments.
Very well put Richard - I typically learn as much as my students do. Everybody brings something new and interesting.
Do you have a strategy by which you help your students to capitalize on each others strengths as well as their weaknesses?
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
By creating Staying up on my topic and learning from the students make for a beter enviroment
I do not believe it to be a balance but has much has a growth. I feel a person grows and make changes every day to keep up with the new generation of students. When students enter my class room they bring a new experience to me and everyone else.
The industry doesn't slow down for anyone. The technology is ever changing and materials are vast. As a Facilitator I am always researching these changes and finding ways to introduce this technology to my students. We are the "Best of the Best" teaching the futures Best. It's necessary for for us the instructors to stay as current as possible with the many changes that we see happening on a daily bases. This will allow us to introduce if nothing else the concepts and theory of these changes. Our students are tommorrows business leaders, technicians and even possibly teachers themselves.
Lucky for me my topic that I teach is also my hobby, therefore I tend to spend alot of time learning about it and thinking of new ways to present it to my students.
Good Morning to each of you who are current students!
I am very excited that the general concensus is that students learn best when they participate in their own learning and - as facilitators of learning - it is our responsibility to provide learning activities. And - from these learning activities and interaction with students - we, too - learn!
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
No amount of new ways of teaching or time spent on students can make up for lack of expert level knowledge about the topic you are going to teach. Even average knowledge of the topic is not conducive to a good learning envoirment and will lead to lack of student confidence in the instructors ability.
After teaching an advanced level class for 2 1/2 years, I find it extremely important to stay on top of new technology and trends in the field. Wireless internet has forced instructors to constantly push themselves harder and harder. Students simply pull out their cell phones, link to the internet and bombard instructors with obscure questions. This is not done in the interest of learning, only for the fact of trying to upstage the instructor.
I believe hsving a thorough knowledge of the course material is the only requirement. The instructor's knowledge should be enough to handle the questions related to the course. Any questions that go beyond the limits of necessity for the course should be dealt with as a "side bar" subject.
Seminars and online literature have helped to increase my level of awareness of new technologies and innovations within industry. I have a liberal amount of flexibility in choosing what seminars I attend and when I pursue information online. My class is on a fixed schedule that I adamently adhere to. After class I reflect on the day and seek to solve areas in need of improvement.
Good morning Steven!
I would love to be in your classroom. You have a passion for adult leaners - meeting their needs as adults.
"An educator must move beyond the traditional model of schooling to a point at which students can learn effectively." I couldn't agree more.
Great job and keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
The clock strikes 4:30 a.m. Time to get up and go to work. With coffee in hand, I walk from the kitchen to my car - it’s 5:30 a.m. and time to start my day. I arrive at work and there are scores of e-mails to read and reply to, phone calls to return, and a class to teach. At 3 p.m. I leave for home – at 4 p.m. I’m at the computer attending an on-line class at Yamaha Motor University. These are the external factors affecting my learning. It’s called life, earning a living, and having a family.
As an educator and adult learner I have other concerns. I am pressed for time. From my schedule listed above, one can see that everyone in the family is impacted by my lack of availability at home. I am lucky, however, in that I have kept up with technology and am quite comfortable with computers (I have noticed that other staff members have had considerably more difficulty with technology). This new technology, to me, is wonderful. The new technology has opened up job opportunities which did not exist 15 years ago, while allowing me learn without leaving my home.
As I reflect about how I balance the need to learn more about the topics I teach with my need to develop new ways of teaching I am reminded of one of Mark Twain's dictums, "Don't let schooling get in the way of education." I think that the goal of educating adult students can only be achieved by presenting them with more than lectures, rote memorization tasks, and straightforward projects (i.e., traditional schooling). In other words, an educator must move beyond the traditional model of schooling to a point at which students can learn effectively.
When students come into our courses they are but a few steps away from their professional careers. Although somewhat of a cliché, to succeed an individual must learn to be faster, smarter, more creative, and be able to learn from mistakes. How can we prepare students to succeed in this competitive environment? The answer is, at least in part, to move them out of their comfort zone by presenting them with realistic problems that have undefined boundaries and solutions and that require cooperation as well as competition. The goal of this is to help students to learn to be critical thinkers and effective problem solvers so that they can be effective competitors in their careers.
Hi atricia - what a GREAT approach and I couldn't agree more!
Keep up the good Work!
Jane Davis
Ed197 Facilitator
Charles, thanks for the insight. You have an advantage since you subject matter is ever changing. It sounds as though you seize every opportunity to improve upon student learning as well as your own.
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
Hi Natalie,
Great approach! I believe that classroom instructors have become facilitators/trainers not teachers. I am convinced this is a much better learning environment for students. What do you think?
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
Ed107 Facilitator
The more comfortable I am with the topic the more I tend to relax. Once relaxed I really play off of the type of students I have in the class. I like to get away from a "Lecture" setting to more of an open discussion forum. Having this form of communication I tend to learn just as much new information as the students.
Ask the experienced colleagues about what you can expect of your students. Ask them what they wish they would have known about teaching before they taught their own courses for the first time. Your colleagues can provide helpful insights about teaching specific courses and about teaching in general (what works and what doesn’t).
Jane,
The dynamics of new information greatly expands the knowledge base from which I can pull out of my toolbox to help students understand the subject matter.
Sometimes it helps me just change my answers...so I personnally don't get bored with the same answers...it keeps me feeling fresh with expanding my knowledgebase. Our subject matter is ever changing due to the technology changes!
Best,
Chuck
