Janice,
Great to hear about your passion for both your field and teaching. This is what helps to create a connection between the course content and students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Frances,
You got that right. We need to bring passion and enthusiasm to each and every class we teach. This is how we will engage our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is critical to show entusiasm for what you are teaching. If you do not why are you there? I love what a do as a career and love teaching it to others even more.
Oh, my, if a teacher can't be joyous and excited about what they teach, then why would a student be excited about what they are learning?
Katherine,
I love hearing stories like this because it reinforces how much impact instructors have on the lives of their students. Your science teacher continues to impact your life years later. He helped you to make a career choice of being a teacher in the his and now your field, science. We need to remember our influence as we work with our students and help them move toward their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of my reasons for getting into the science field was because of my high school biology teacher. He was so passionate about his courses that it made me passionate too. His eyes would light up every time you asked him a question. He cared about his students and just loved what he taught. I did very well in his classes and I know his enthusiasm made me happy to be a part of them. I have carried that with me in my 10 years of teaching subjects that I just love and have tried to show my passion to my students. The feedback is that it has worked.
One of my reasons for getting into the science field was because of my high school biology teacher. He was so passionate about his courses that it made me passionate too. His eyes would light up every time you asked him a question. He cared about his students and just loved what he taught. I did very well in his classes and I know his enthusiasm made me happy to be a part of them. I have carried that with me in my 10 years of teaching subjects that I just love and have tried to show my passion to my students. The feedback is that it has worked.
Michael,
Well said in relation to how an instructor's passion for his or her field and enthusiasm for teaching the content impacts the learning of students. Both of these elements are critical in the teaching process.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe enthusiasm comes from expertise and knowledge of the instructor. When you know all of the ins and outs of something, you are confident in your ability to teach. Being confident helps you be enthusiastic about your subject area. Enthusiasm also encourages the students to be excited about the subject as well and helps the student trust the instructor. When a student is comfortable with an instructor and trusts that they know what they are talking about, the student is able to relax more and have fun learning. When they have fun, they learn more! Learning more means to retain knowledge, which means classroom success.
Yolanda,
Good point. We need to bring passion for our field and enthusiasm for teaching our content to the classroom each time we enter it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The days where I was enjoyed the instructional aspect of my employment I was excited and enthusiatic about the materials the other days were I had challenges prior to arrival in the classroom I could see my energy deplete as well as the students. This would cause a lousy class.
Cheryl,
This is so important for student retention. Knowing they are valued and cared about by an authority figure is important for students. You are doing both with your approach.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I treat each student as an individual and not a number. If I see that a student is slacking then professionally I ask is there anythung I can do to help the student within my professional means.
Erin,
YES, IT IS! If we don't bring passion for our field and enthusiasm for teaching our content it is for sure our students will not be engaged. We have a great opportunity to share our knowledge with others and we need to be excited about getting to do it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
If we are not enthused about our class, no one will be. Enthusiasm is contagious!!!
Donald,
Good way to start discussions and get student input. I am sure some students will be excited about learning more about your own use of math via the many applications of it you have made in your career.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Russell,
Right you are about the instructor needing to be excited about his or her subject. We cannot sell learning to our students if we are not excited about the content we are offering.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
A lot. My students know I'm teaching because I like it, I know Algebra cold, I used it all my live as an engineer and programmer and not because I have to, they know I am retired. They sometimes want advice, and I give it, sometimes even when not asked directly. The discussion board added topics beyond Algebra is a likely place to start such discussions and post items that students don't usually think about. Their replies are optional, but many read even if they don't comment.
If the instructor is not excited about his or her subject, it is impossible to expect the students to show any enthusiasm for the subject. Moreover, the excitement must be genuine: students will know IMMEDIATELY if an instructor is pretending to like the subject. Trying to fake enthusiasm is the kiss of death in the classroom. Better to stay home that day than fake being excited about teaching.
I believe that by knowing your subject and being excited about it , is very contageous with your students.
