I know I need to refocus when I start to bore myself. I like to them start including current events and new research into my lessons which immediatly gets me and the students more excited about the topic area. A filed trip can also create a spark if it's related to the subject area.
Every individual has a point of burnout. Reguardless of your passion for a subject, life and external factors can become distractors. Every instructor needs to be able to REFOCUS in order to maintain their proficency.
Isn't it more than refocusing? Everything moves very quickly thses days...keeping abreast of new
trends could take all of your time...being able to take the new and with or without contridicting the information already presented to students, finding the right presentation method...this seems to be a constant in bringing new thoughts to the students...otherwise why bother...I think the really "good" teachers seem to be able to make the content of their courses "alive" and their students motivated without much visible effort...maybe we need to follow such a teacher around for a week or two! they make it seem easy and from this forum,it seems possible that these gifted teachers work very hard to make it seem easy. If you don't revitialise yourself you could become lazy, and students will see you are only "going through the motions" and turn off...they may be looking to find the least they need to do to pass your course without really absorbing the skills needed to succeed.
Because students and instructors become complacent and need to get re energized. I would have my students take a few moments to write down all of the useful skills for cosmetology they have learned so far after mid term.
Mark,
Good point and one I strive to remind myself of each time I enter the classroom to teach a course that I have taught many times before. I also introduce a new activity each time I teach the course to keep my interest high for teaching it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This is important especially with instructors who teach the same classes over and over again. The material starts to become "boring" to us but it is fresh and new to the student. In order to keep it interesting we must always try to see it through theior eyes not ours.
I find that as the course moves along, sometimes students get set in routines and can get in a rut. The REFOCUS process is a tool to energize the learning experience
Linda,
Good point. I teach the same set of courses four times a year so I can really appreciate your comments about class delivery becoming routine. I strive to introduce a new instructional delivery item as well as a new content topic each time I teach a class. This way there is something new for me as well as the students each course phase.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Technology and Paradigm shifts are always and on-going course of study and requirement. Revisiting course objectives and sylibi keep the instructor on point. Change ups and refreshers in teaching methodology are imperative, for both instructor and student.
When teaching the same course over and over I feel that as the teacher we loose our enthusiasm
and the student senses that and they loose their enthusiam. A rippling effect. We all need to change our routine to make it exciting.
Shivani,
What are some ways that you have found to be successful in introducing new teaching strategies. Thanks for your input on this.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Judy,
Good comments about how to stay at the top of your game over time. We need to keep our excitement level up and be passionate about our field. In addition by staying current we are showing our students that we have zeal for our career and what to share our knowledge with them.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that introducing new ways of teaching the course material will help me refocus on the subject and inject excitement in the classroom not only for myself but the students also.
Expertise ,empathy ,enthusiasm and clarity
Refocusing can help in a few ways:
If you've been teaching the same class(es) over and over again, you can fall into a sort of rut. It becomes routine and loses the excitement that it used to hold.
If you have a difficult class, they can drain your energy and excitement. By refocusing, you can not only refind that excitement, but possibly help you come up with new ways to explain the content that will engage the class and help turn them from being difficult.
If it's a course you're familiar with, but haven't taught in a while, going back and refocusing can help YOU understand why it is important and why you're teacing the subject in the first place.
Agreed, every time I teach a class I think "gee, I think I should move this there or that here" and the next thing I know it feels new again.
Sam,
This is a fun place to be because you have the content down. The creative part is finding new and different ways to deliver it. Enjoy discovering news strategies and methods for your course.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Instructors need to refocus so they can stay energized and excited about the lesson they are teaching, this will keep student interested and motivated to learn. If the instructor is not focused then the students is not focused.
One course that I have taught several times already is getting a bit stale. This technique could help me breathe some new life into it.
Eddie,
I teach two sections of the same course back to back. I really appreciate your comments about needing to stay Focused and then Refocused. This is what I have to do each time I teach the two sections.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
