Ali,
We've all been to school, and have probably experienced an instructor who may have been knowledgeable, but their delivery was awful. Students may tolerate it but are not likely to learn as much.
Barry Westling
I educate in a career college. My understanding of my field has been the best asset. I trained students in the career field before I became an educator, so this has helped me a lot. Becoming an educator I had to figure out my strengths and weaknesses, and then focus on my weaknesses as those were what the students needed. I am not a soft skills person, and a student needs that. I know where I need to improve at , and where my strengths are but not knowing nor acknowledging your strengths will hurt the students outcome.
Rick,
Great. Understanding basic traits about oneself is essential for self improvement, progress and instructional effectiveness, and improved student outcomes.
Barry Westling
Understanding my personality (ENFP in MBTI, and high "i" in DiSC) has helped me in both preparation as well as delivery in the classroom. Being tuned into weaknesses such as dealing with organization and details has helped me focus on improvement in this area. Likewise, knowing my strengths such as engagement and story telling can help me to connect with the students and motivate them to levels beyond what they think they can obtain.
Craig,
Triangulation from multiple sources usually helps identify key areas that may be outstanding or need improvement, especially when the same or similar comments or ratings appear from the different evaluators. One important step is to try to be objective, look for the truth in any negative comments, and be willing to work to make changes.
Barry Westling
I agree that we need to know our strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes what we think about ourselves can be different than other people perceive us. At our campus we also have surveys that the students fill out, and observations are also done by our management. This feedback is very useful to me so that I can get a better understanding of what I need to do to adjust and adapt to give the students the best experience.
Michael,
I believe the most essential step in working on self improvement is recognition of the need, and the willingness to work to make corrections. Another key step is to be able to retain each of our uniquenesses and authenticity while on the journey to improvement.
Barry Westling
By understandng yourself as an instructor you can work on weakness while using your strenght in the classroom. In addition by recognizing your weakness you can find other ways of presenting the materiel for the students as well as working on your flaws to improve yourself as an instructor.
Kenisha,
Right! And at the minimum, we need to display confidence to the students that we have the competence (education, experience, training, and background) to effectively conduct the facilitation of class material.
Barry Westling
As instructors, we have to understand the position that we hold; A position of influence and leadership. The students are looking to us as a guide through the course. They are also watching to see how we conduct ourselves as professionals. We can allow the student to have a positive experience or a negative experience. We are more than just instructors, we are also role models in some student's eyes.
I ask myself did, did I learn something new from today’s lectures?
Yvonne,
Of course students can provide feedback, but in many cases their comments and ratings can be skewed by subjective assessment based on lesser grades, feelings of material too hard,or resistance to class or school policies. Yet, there is an element truth tucked away in every comment, so as we reflect on the student perspectives and end of term evaluations, we can try to weed through the untrue subjectivity, and try to sort the nuggets of truth that, if we're honest, can be found, applied and model us to become better at what we do as instructors.
Barry Westling
It is important to understand yourself as an instructor in order to see areas of strengths and weaknesses. One important way is feedback from your students. I try to take a poll during the course of the class to get feedback on how I am doing. Also the end of class surveys are very helpful and I use to this information to continue to improve.
Brendon,
I think we all probably have a pretty good awareness where we need improvement. Just like we know what we really excel at. Both these understandings provide a basis for ongoing, continuous improvement, especially if we're serious about instructional delivery as a career.
Barry Westling
I believe understanding yourself as an instructional leader is important to provide the students with everything they require for retaining the information. If you can recognize your strong and weak points you can focus on your weak areas or employ outside help/materials to supplement your stronger areas.
Leonard,
Traits like honesty, patience, humility and integrity are appropriate in all settings. Students will be forgiving in technical goofs when they feel their instructor is sincere.
Barry Westling
I'm still kind of new to being a instructor, so I am always trying to figure out new ways to build on the strong points and work on the weak points. It's a on going process.
Tiffany,
I think better instructors realize the need to continuously reflect on their role in terms of commitment, attitude, professionalism, patience, and competence. Humility about the need to make needed adjustments is the companion to personal reflection, because recognition of need without the willingness to make the changes is of little value.
Barry Westling
Charles,
It's true, ongoing self improvement is really a continuous personal commitment. Sometimes this occurs through trial and error. The lesson is to learn from mistakes.
Barry Westling
During the years that i have been teaching it has given me more insight on how my students take me. I have learned that you can not treat all students the same or asume they are the same. It has allowed me to set back and refocus my weaknesses and re-evaluate how i approach my students in a college setting.
