Because, me speaking personally I want the student to focus on what I'm lecuturing about, and have his/her mind wander in space. I want all of their attention.
I also feel new and old strategies are sometimes needed from student to student even in the same class to help them understand.
To reenergize yourself and your students.
I do the same too. Each time I teach a course, I like going over the lectures and updating them, making sure that what I presented is clear and current.
Exactly. The field can change over a matter of just a year and being on top of those changes builds confidence in the students and energizes the discussions.
Daniel,
I like your comfortable and easy going way of conducting your class sessions. Enjoying a laugh together as a result of a story shared is a good way to help students refocus as well as the instructor. Then you can go back to the content and move the class forward. Teaching as well as learning can and should be fun.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Charles,
So true and so important to continued teaching success.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Instructors get exhausted and carried away sometimes. Refocus will help them to get back on track.
Sometimes we just lose our way due to assorted interferences. Doing a midpoint reevaluation of our progress and level of enthusiasm is important if we want to keep the students engaged. Focused stories are a very useful tool to help recapture the momentum. However, I found that occasionally slipping in funny stories that don’t have a point other than just being fun help too. I know they help me and the students pick up on this and contribute their own fun stories. Then I like to slip in one with a point to get things back on track.
Were all human and adults. Were not always able to maintain or meet goals and timelines and so we need to refocus our classes to get back on track.
After many years of teaching, it is important to refocus in order to stimulate others.
Because in the Medical field there are always new things coming up the pike, so as things change so should we.
We need to change so we can teach our student new things. We need to be a life long learner, so we don't become stagnant.
Look we all get "burned out" from time to time. It is important as with anything to sometimes "reevaluate" or "refocus" on why we are doing what we are doing and what it means to us as instructors. I personally can refocus by going back and looking at the students who have achieved and excelled in their fields and I like to think that I had a hand in that achievement.
This allows instructors to re-evaluate teaching methods to see if they are in fact effective and to avoid burnout.
Stacy,
So true. It is easy to get in a rut and just act out the course content without bringing the passion that once was there. We cannot let this happen if we are to remain effective instructional delivery experts.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Instructors need to REFOCUS periodically to revitalize themselves as well as the "feeling" and excitement that they are projecting to their students.
Patricia,
Good point for instructors to remember. As each person is unique so is each class. The composition and dynamics of each class shapes how we approach our instructional planning.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Barbara,
Good point about the ups and downs of our courses and the impact they have on us and our students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Rhina,
We need to bring enthusiasm and passion to our teaching. As you say our students will observe and benefit from how we approach the classroom.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
You can not treat each class like another. Each class has a personality and we must refocus to make sure we are aware of these personalities. Activities performed with another class might not work with this one.
