Hi Chanel,
Good comments about REFOCUSing. I think we all have known or taught with instructors that have "retired" on the job they just have 15 more years to work. These kind of instructors really bug me because they and their students are miserable. Teaching is to important to take lightly plus it is so rewarding when you have "aha" moments with students.
Gary
REFOCUSing is very important so you can keep your students engaged and yourself engaged as well...both the instructor and student should be excited to be in the classroom.
Hi Herve,
You are right about the important step of being prepared and ready to teach. We need to be excited about what we teach as well. All these things come together to create a positive learning environment.
Gary
that is a very important step that sometimes we tend to forgo because everyone is always so busy. it's important to recapture our spirit of teaching and why we commit to this particular job and reasses our tecahing methods from times to time.
Hi Brian,
What are some methods you have used to inspire your students when they get worn down during the course?
Gary
Hi Mark,
I wish you much success with your middle school students. I taught them as well. They are a most interesting bunch to say the least. They made me smile each day they walked into my class due to the perspective on life.
You are right about the need to "perform" for students no matter what has occurred before the class. Yes, the stakes are high for students since we are a part of their future and we have to make sure our impact is positive and supportive to their future career success.
Gary
Sometimes students seem really motivated at the beginning of the term but can sometimes slack off later in the course. Facing late and/or incomplete assignments can be a challenge. I try to inspire my students that learning is a process and can take time.
In many jobs and careers, people can become overworked and have a stuck feeling about them. They can feel tired and bored with their routine, thereby inadvertenly affecting their learners. REFOCUS allowes the instructor to take a step back and reenergize themselves; to remind them why they joined this field and what makes them happy about what they do.
Dr. Amy Laptad
I believe that taking time to "refocus" has two levels. The first level being that using the technique helps me as an instructor to step outside of the day to day classroom instruction and really see what's happening in the classroom. It gives me the opportunity to change things up a bit. By mid-term, if not before it's going to be apparent what is and is not working..and each class has it's own variables. It's a good time to "take stock" and discard what doesn't work, then move on...and sometimes it's turned out to be entire lesson plans! The deeper level is that it gives me a space to really decide why I started to teach in the first place. I try and get back to the place where I was enthusiastic and energized just by walking into the classroom. Just the disconnect of "refocus" is valuable. I've learned to make teaching a cycle...ups and downs but always back to the center.
David,
This a good idea. Teaching the same course over and over can make you lazy so it is good to gange gears sometimes. Coming up with new ideas or revisiting the old material serve as best the tool to find motivation in what you teach.
There is no day more important in teaching than today. Whatever happened yesterday, whatever awaits tomorrow, is not important. Your students depend on you for information each day.
It's not easy to put a bad day aside, but the classroom is very much like a stage. When class starts, it's like the curtain is opening, and there is an audience waiting for your performance.
That may sound simplistic, but I teach middle school, and being "on" for 190 days is very difficult, but we all manage.
We all know what's at stake.
If you are teaching the same course over and over we do fall in a rut so find new ways to bring old material
It is very important to take a time and refocus: What I do to remain effective is, I look at myself and evaluate myself on how I connect with my students on daily basis, from-class-to-class.
I think "REFOCUS"ing leads to a better teacher. I refresh my students with a brief snap shot of the previous days lecture. It reminds them what they had learned and refreshes their memory of things they heard but did not quite retain that day. I ask if there are any new questions (there are usually a few)and then we move right in on that days lesson.
I can be more affective in my demos(I am a Baking and Pastry instructor)when the students are solid on their knowledge and comprehension of the subject matter.
"REFOCUS" helps the teacher to recognize class achievement and progress thus far. It is an empowering tool, to help us look at the "Big Picture".
Miss Kim
Hi Kim,
Good way to get feedback from your students. By keeping their goals in front of them throughout the course you will be helping to keep their motivation up even when they start to wear down in the middle of the course.
Gary
Dr. Gary
I usually try to review in the beginning of each class to assure that they remember the last. usually around midterm I ask or try to remember to ask my student what their objective was for the class and is the class what they expected so that I know if I'm on the right track or if I'm loosing my students half way. I ask again what their goals were and are...if they changed. I know that in the begining they may be excited but they loose that midway.
Kim
We sometimes need to remind ourselves what it is we are doing exactly, teaching. Oft times we get swept up with egos and who is better/faster, meanwhile the student suffers. If the student truly is the customer then everyone loses with these results. If we as teachers focus on customer service (teaching!) then everything else falls into place nicely.
The day to day wear and stress of teaching can sometimes lead to "going through the motions" so to speak, so the idea of introspection allows the instructor the re-find the motivation and excitement that makes learning enjoyable for the student.
Hi Tomoko,
Keep it real and keep it fresh. This way not only are you excited but the material is reflective of the career area for which the students are training. Well said.
Gary
