Paul,
Thank you for your input on how educators should practice their profession in terms of expectations and requirements. I direct the Cadre for Human Resource Development at a major land grant university. The Cadre strives to do what you are proposing in that we prepare teachers in foundational educational principles and learning and as they move toward their upper level courses we tailor the content to reflect the learning needs of the student population they are interested in teaching. This eliminates the one size fits all and gives them opportunity to develop knowledge and skills targeted for the students they will be teaching. We have had excellent results with this approach based upon the ease that our graduates have in getting hired and the satisfaction that students have with their teaching methods.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Since the mentors overseeing the student teaching do not prepare those ridiculous step-by-step lesson plans why do they require them?
If they teach, they know that the best laid plans of mice and teachers gang aft a'gley.
If they really want to see if their student teacher is effective in the class room they need to monitor more of the classes. Most visit once or twice in a semester.
I admit--that would not be as easy as assigning extensive lesson plans that are not going to be assessed in detail anyway, but it certainly would be more effective.
In my humble opinion, educators should practice what they preach. If they teach their students not to assign busy work, they should not turn around and assign busy work themselves.
As far as classes go, since there are teachers who plan on teaching elementary school, and those who plan to teach adults, construct different courses for the respective fields instead of relying on the cheaper but inefficient one-size-fits-all curriculum that is used by most schools of Education.
The fact that using a one-size-fits-all curriculum is strongly taught against in the very schools using it themselves. For some reason, they think the students do not notice. They do, and they feel very disrespected when they point it out, and are dismissed out of hand.
Paul,
You ask a great question that to date has not been answered by the field. Much research and effort still needs to be extended to find a valid and accurate way of measuring teacher effectiveness. In many cases it seems that volume (number of pages) is the method used for measuring effort such as in your 6-10 page lesson plans.
My question would be since you seem to feel that your time as been wasted in your teacher preparation classes and your MFA practicum and that educational leaders do not have a realistic understanding of how to facilitate the training of educators, what is the answer? What is the right way to grade teacher performance as you see it? Thanks for your input on this.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In 'teacher school' I had to take several waste of time classes.
From the start I wanted to teach adult education, but I had to take several courses (maybe a third of the classes) that dealt with primary grades.
There was no way I could engage in those classes, even though I also do teach some primary English classes.
The problem seems to be that while we know there is no "one way" to teach, there seems to be a "one way" to grade teaching classes.
Even in my MFA practicum I had to submit 6-10 page lesson plans. No teacher writes such detailed lesson plans--and every teacher knows that.
But for the class we had to build those ridiculous lesson plans.
Why is it busy work seems to be the norm for grading teachers performance?
Paul,
I teach five sections of a course that students have to take in order to get their teaching certificate. To say they are excited about coming into the course would be an understatement. The fun part for me is to change their mind set and get them to see the value of what I have to offer not only just in the content area but in application to other aspects of their lives. As this transformation occurs they become more engaged and excited about coming to class and participating in course activities. It is a lot of work but the reward for me is that I was able to convince students that didn't want to be there that the course had value and that they could have a good time learning. The result of this efforts and given me a number of teaching awards and honors and the credit goes to passion for the content and enthusiasm for teaching about it.
I wish you continued teaching success as you strive to help your students see the value of good communication skills at all levels.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have discovered the prevalent motivating factor for most students is to pass the class more than it is to learn the material.
I teach English in a Tech college. What these students want is to get a passing grade so they can move on to what will help them succeed in their field.
My task is to keep reminding them that being able to communicate well is vital to advancement in any field of work.
Gail,
Immediate use of newly acquired knowledge is a powerful motivator. I am excited for you as you take this information and make application of it with your faculty. I wish you much success as you impact the lives of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think the idea of being able to see immediately how what you learn can be used in what you do in life is essential. I have experienced this as I went through this course. I was asked to take this course by my boss, which was one motivation so I that I could be the retention "expert" on the team. I have also seen in each module ways that i can apply what I am learning to what I do each day to encourage and motivate our students.
Kyle,
Having passion for your field and then being enthusiastic about teaching it goes a long way in getting students excited about the course content. I to had such professors in my background and they were able to get me excited about the courses they were teaching even when I thought there was not application to me or my career choice. In the end they were able to demonstrate that there was a connection and that I could benefit from their classes, even if they weren't in my field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Some factors that contribute to student motivation are what the course is and why they are taking the course. Is the course simply a requirement to graduate, or is it something drectly related to the career the student is choosing to go for? Another factor is the instructor, is he or she excited about the material? Does he or she make it seem relevant and interesting to even those who are taking the class as a graduation requirement? Some of my favorite classes when I went to college weren't even in my major. I wasn't even excited to take them from the beginning but once I realized how interesting and exciting it seemd to my professors, added to their instructional styles, I too grew to love those classes!
As mentioned in this module, assessing initially what motivates students is important. I have found that you need to constantly be reassessing motivation factors because they change for some students during the course of the class.
Tim,
The first and most immediate step is to start communication with the student. Call, text, email, whatever will establish contact with the student. Then try to get a face to face with the student and explain that you are very concerned for the student and the developing pattern of skipping. Try to find out why the student is not attending class and see if you can find a mutual solution to the problem. This personal interest goes a long way in helping to get such a student back to attending class. If the reason(s) is so large that the student needs some time to get their life organized again, help them to step out of school in such a way that they know they are welcome to come back and start where they left off. I have done this with many students. Some came back and were ready to go, and of course others I never saw again, but at least I know I did everything I could to help that individual be successful and that gives me a measure of satisfaction.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
If the student starts to skip, what can be done to reach them and get them back on track.
Priscilla,
The sharing of examples and stories from the field helps to make the content have value and come alive for the students. So keep sharing and motivating your students so they see why they are in the class and how they are moving forward with their career development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Keep the instructions entwined with their real life experiences and the discussions are exciting and an open window to them and what motivates them.
Cynthia,
Good advice for all instructors to follow. We need to bring our A game to class every time it meets. To do less is a dis-service to our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Being positive all the time, even if your world is crashing around you, don't let them know! Smile, greet each of them by name, let them know that you care. These are just a few ways I motivate my students.
Cassie,
Knowing what brought them gives you opportunity to engage them in a personal way as they develop their knowledge and skills in the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I feel that the biggest motivator for the students is what brought them to the school in the first place- the goal of attaining the skills that will help them get a job in their career field.
