Hi Gretchen,
This is a good point that all of us instructors need to remember. We have to remember that the material is fresh that that group of students even if we have taught the course many times before. By stepping back as you say we can keep ourselves fresh and focused.
Gary
I think the more times we teach a class, the easier it is to assume the students know the material already. I have had to take a step back and look at each class differently and adjust my teaching technique to accommodate the needs of the students in that class. This has helped me learn and grow as an instructor, and seems to benefit the studnets better.
I completely agree with the fact that after the first 3 weeks, the students are hopeful that something will change, or the method of learning will be somewhat different.
When we gain the trust of our students they respond to us better
Hi All,
A number of you have made good comments about how to realize the need to REFOCUS yourself and then offered strategies for making it happen. Thank you for sharing these ideas with us.
Gary
Teaching a subject repeatedly can make the material seem stale, even with constant new intakes of students. Refocusing helps to keep the source material fresh as well as reviewing if the approach could be improved.
REFOCUS is an opportunity to evaluate, improve, and rejuvenate or increase enthusiasm which will benefits instructor and students.
By refocusing,i can give the students a more effective learning experience by tailering lectures and the hands onpart of the course subject.
As instructors, we must REFOCUS every so often to keep ourselves interested and motivated with the material. If we start to get bored with doing the same routine over and over, it will show and the students will pick up on it.
The material is always the same, but we need to change it up to keep interest. By changing the pace, students will find it refreshing also.
Hi Lora,
Thank you for these great comments. I really appreciate the strategies that was recommended by Archbishop Sheen. The use of new notes keeps both the content and the instructor fresh. I really enjoy planning for class and by looking at the content with fresh eyes the planning process takes on new meaning.
Gary
We fall into patterns and tend to stay there, it's good to shake things up for us as well as the students.
Teaching the same content repeatedly can make your delivery somewhat robotic, refocusing can help to make the content and delivery fresh.
It can become monotonous doing the same thing over and over and over again. With experience I've found that time off is a good tool, as well as doing the class slightly differently, every time. Moderation is the key to combat this issue.
I think instructors are even more prone to becoming unfocused than students. First of all, instructors teach the same course over and over most likely - or quite often. In teaching that course they become stuck in a rut in their delivery which, I suspect, propels him/her into a mechanical, dry sort of delivery method. Using refocusing techniques is going jolt one out of the rut. I found a discourse by Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen not long ago - he taught university courses years ago on theology topics many times over. His recommendation for teaching a course was to NEVER use the same class notes a second time. Prepare the next quarter/semester as if it is the first time you are teaching the course. I think this is wise advice. Secondly, I think instructors can become just as overwhelmed as students by the coure materials. The amount of information that must be delivered to students vs. the amount of information students themselves have to learn and interiorize can both be overwhelming. Anything that jolts one out of the rut is going to benefit instructor and student. Although repetition of the information gets it from the short term memory into long term where it needs to be ultimately, repetition can become boring quickly. Anything that enhances that repetition and yet, at the same time, presents the repetition in a different way, almost without the student being aware of the "new" repetition is going to force the instructor to think anew about the information presented in its new delivery format. The winner will be both instructor and student.
Instructors need to refocus by stepping back to look at the situation objectively. By doing so, it gives the instructor an opportunity to gain a new perspective and see what could be done differently; a fresh approach to see what works well and what needs a twist.
Because it is easy for us as instructors to fall into robotic patterns.
It is then, that we become impersonal.
Then, we become much less effective instructors.
I attempt to REFOCUS after each quarter of teaching and try to change something in the next class. Even with adult learners we all love games and interaction types of activities. To engage students I will have them review or make up quiz on the topics covered. Another way I have refocused in the past is take a quarter recharge which does help. Dayle Brian
You have all given great advice for this topic. will just need to remember why we became instructors
Getting re-energized is important, especially mid-way through the phase. I find the surprise element particularly effective. For example, if I am teaching an "upper" level course, I might take a set of skills from an intro level course that the students should have mastered and give them a timed hands-on activity on those skills. This re-inforces continued importance of learning and also practical application; it stresses the cumulative nature of education and of the skills required on the job site.
You need to step back, and recharge yourself because when you are refreshed and refocused your verbal and nonverbal communication improves. Students are very much aware of both types of communication. They will draw conclusions that can negatively impact their learning if we send the wrong messages. We must stay focused and aware at all times.
