The best way to be able to focus on developing new teaching skills is to feel confident and well-versed in the topic you are teaching. Thus learning more about those topics only help you focus on facilitating
I like your approach of talking to leaders in the workforce that your students will be entering. I believe that people who are successful in an area have a great amount of knowledge that students can befit from.
I beleive that the teaching process is dynamic. Every time I teach a course the course presents questions. This requires me to research the question. During the research I gain more knowledge about the subject. I always create a lesson plan and a method of delivery that I will use to present the information to the students. During the teaching process I determine what is effective and what delivery techniques need to be refined and adjusted. I then incorporate the refinements into my lesson plan.
Good evening Professor Davis,
I find that in order to be current in what I am teaching and balance classroom time; I often rely on my curriculum committee at work. The committee is comprised of several of my colleagues who are in touch with corporate and our sister campuses. All of the information about the course is funneled into one file that is meticulously reviewed and part of an ongoing system of checks and balances. After the committee reviews the course curriculum; it is either revised or updated and passed on to the instructors who teach the material. This saves a lot of time and makes the teaching material more consistent across all of our schools. In addition, I do my own research such as reading and taking professional development courses so that I am up to date on the current trends in the industry. I am also planning on volunteering in the industry during my free time so that I can get firsthand experience which I can relay to my students in the classroom. The hardest part of being an instructor is avoiding getting rusty and not being able to deliver contemporary material to your students.
Best regards,
Jason Kupper
Read up more about the topics taught. Being new to teaching,but having 35 years in the industry,these courses have been extremely instrumental in furthering my teaching techniques.
Keeping in mind that we as educators/learning facilitators must also be lifelong learners helps to maintain the desire to do so. Also, making every effort to get to know students and how they learn, best done, of course in smaller classes, helps to guide the teaching to meet the needs of the students. I also find that if I have a majority of students that get a question wrong on a test or that all have the same error on a paper and I "drop" the question or do not deduct points for the error and reteach it, the students work harder to ensure that they are doing their part to understand the material. My reasoning behind this, in addition to what is listed above, is that I feel if a large majority of students make the same error, I have either not explained it clearly or not asked the question clearly.
Attending inservices or continuing education to enhance knowledge and learn new trends.
When not at work I read a lot. Since what I teach changes at a rapid rate,I feel it is necessary for me to stay well versed on subject
material even if it is on my own time. Besides, it is something I enjoy doing and always have.
I would have to feel confident with the topic first, then spend time on teaching style. Time management is tricky, especially with involved learners, those who interact.
I take every opportunity to research the topics I teach. While doing so I take extensive notes and highlight the information I want to integrate into my course. We are fortunate to have one week before each new course to redevelop and refine our course materials so I am able to re-work my material by either adding information or applying new techniques.
I'm always expanding my knowledge of the topic by reading scientific journals, magazines, and other literature on the subject. I also encourage my students to share what they know about the topic. If a student introduces a new idea about the topic, I'll thank the student for his/her input and incorporate the idea into the discussion.
By degree, my "style" of facilitating seems to be effective, and learning more about topics helps me to keep fresh, vibrant and animated, which keeps the students engaged, participating and learning. Of the two; developing "new ways" of facilitating and "learning more," I would say that "learning more" has the biggest impact on my effectiveness.
I enjoy workshops, classes, and conferences. I feel energized afterword, especially when I take part in the discussions.
I find it totally fasinating to get the persepective of the students in class to see a new way of presenting material for them to learn.
I tell them right up front my theory of learning is everyone should strive to learn each day and ask them for input on how they would get an idea or concept across if they were me. I have over the years learned new ways of sharing and explaining concepts to students through the viewpoint of their peers. This makes learning fun and keeps it fresh as well.
I balance the need to obtain new topics by constantly attending classes/researching. I have all my students complete a survey, what classes they had, what they expect from this class and what they need to see in an instructor. After reviewing all, I develop new or changes to my presentations in the classroom
Instructors should always keep up on new technology in their area and share that with their students. Another valuable asset the instuctor has are his students. Some of the students may work in the field that have knowledge or experiece on topics that may be covered in class and asking the students to share their experiences not only brings informaion into the class but it also keeps everyone engaged and part of the learning experience.
The way I see it, the topics have to come first.
After there is a degree of comfort with the topic, then we can explore different techniques and use of colors, posters etc.
Personally I try to utilize the technology I have the opportunity to teach. For example I use my smartphone to access news, product brochures, training materials and ebooks while waiting in offices or checkout lines. We all have to "wait" in line or "wait" at the doctor's office so I turn my wait time into learning time.
I like to have guest speakers into the classroom to help me keep it fresh. I also belong to an online chat group of other professionals, and we like to challenge each other. I try to really understand the student point of view to help me be a better teacher.
IF your not comfortable with the topic. Do your research before hand or find someone else to teach it.
