Gina, developing problem solving skills is critical to the overall success of your students.
James Jackson
Dedre, great exercise and requires very clearly defined rules and expectations on the first day of class and continually during the duration of the course.
James Jackson
A part of my course involves professionalism,a way in which students satisfy this portion of the class requirement is through: being prompt to class, contacting instructor if he/ she will be late or in non-attendance all together. If students fails to to do the above stated professional requirements he/ she will loose professionalism points.
Kelly, mixing education with entertainment (edutainment) assists in making your lesson plans more engaging to your students.
James Jackson
I continue to learn classroom management from my mistakes and educational courses. This course was very helpful.
I can say a controller and guider. I really learned from this course to use the word I or Me than you or yours to direct the behaviour in a way the class and the student can avoid the feeling of Isolation,confrontation,and embarrasment. Moreover, respect the dignity of the learner.
In the past, in the beginning of my teaching career, I was more of a controller. I tried to run my classroom more like a real kitchen, high expectations, little room for deviation and strict adherence to the schedule. While much of that was good in that it was realistic, I needed to put more emphasis on the learning of the information and techniques, and make it more enjoyable for the students to learn, so they would absorb the information. I believe I am now an ever-changing mix of a buddy, a guide and a controller. I do think that I could do a better job of anticipating problems. Sometimes a problem in my job is that my class may be more efficient than most and anticipated, so I am left with extra time at the end of class. I am usually able to do a good job finding an activity or discussion, however, I could have something more organized in the wings that could not only be educational, but fun.
Amy, what a great way to know you are doing something right. There are several domains of effective teaching. One is how you assess the learning outcomes of your students and another is if students ask for you by name. For those instructors that are able to achieve both, we all need to take notes and learn their techniques. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Rochelle, recordings and having a colleague provide you with a review of your classroom technique are both great methods of improving yourself. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I like to think I am a guide, after going thru this module, I can see how to easily get better in this role. At our school, classroom assignments have been distributed in a list that rotates so everyone has to do every task. That helps enormously with classroom management.
When I first started teaching last year I was very new at it, and also was dropped in with little help from my supervisor. So I had no style when I first started, the second module I worked I became a controller. But over time I have found a balance and become more of a guide with the help and tips from other successful teachers. I am always changing every mod I teach. I look at each new set of students I teach as my chance to try something new and the students I have had in the past trying and improving on something I did with them. Now I walk the halls of my campus and have students stopping me and talking with me whom have never had me before but have heard about me from other students. This last module I walked into the halls for my night class, after working a module during the day time and none of those students seeing me a whole module, and was surrounded by students saying hi, and many of them wishing I was their instructor that module. It made me feel proud that they liked my way of teaching so much that they wanted me again even if I could only teach their program 2 classes.
And even more than offering "constructive criticism" vs. "dropping the hammer" on your students is coaching them into coming up with solutions on how best to solve any classroom issues with you.
It's always hard to see how well you are doing in the classroom. I like to record myself. I will the play it back and ask myself questions like "was i clear enough on that part?" "Did I explain the question in a way that everyone would understand?".
When I first began teaching, I would ignore bad behavior. Not because I was apathetic, I just did not know how to handle the situation properly. Now I know to take care of the matter immediately, because neglected misbehavior will spread like wildfire. I enjoyed the subtle techniques of slipping notes or speaking with students after class as effective ways of addressing an issue without disrupting the class. I will use it to improve my classroom management style.
apparently not enough!!!! This is why I enjoy these as I can always find areas that I can and need to keep improving on or in. I am a controler also but I like to guide as much as posible and when I can I use the friend approach when needed. I have on occasions let the talking go and it snowballed but the way to handle things helps with boundries of what I can or should not do. Thanks for the extra input!
Christine, moving around the room is a great technique. Keep them guessing is another trick I have learned over the years. Nothing invites more trouble into a classroom as being predictable and have set patters in your classroom. Everyday should inspire and bring new challenges to your students. Such is the way of life so we need to prepare them this way.
James Jackson
Wilmer, well stated. We cannot learn for our students but we can work to remove all the other roadblocks that can prevent them from navigating the maze of achievement. By offering different delivery styles, knowing the different learning models and understanding the needs of each of our students we as instructors can GUIDE our students to be successful.
James Jackson
anthony, as you work to develop your teaching style remember that a Guide knows when to add just the right amount of Buddy and/or Controller to provide a positive influence on students. The Guide leads by example and is fair but firm. The focus is to guide your students to achieve the learning outcomes of the course and there will be times you need to rule and times you need to serve.
James Jackson
Tiffany, looks like you have a great plan laid out. What actions can you take now that will allow you to measure your progress over time?
James Jackson
I have tried to walk around the room more to evaluate who needs more direct attention
