Lynne,
Yes, and as a student centered instructor, teachers who are willing to add action to their words will be willing to deviate from their planned curriculum in order to get all students up to speed, even if that means spending more time than planned with weaker students, reviewing material longer than expected, or working one on one with select students to do all possible to get them to understand the material.
Barry Westling
Knowing your student and remembering what is was like when you were in their positon helps the instructor to see how motivated the students should and could be and as in instructor it is your position to help them stay that way. We want our students to stay excited about being in school and what the out come will be. A good positon they have worked hard to finally have it pay off.
James,
Right! And student centered instructors are also willing to adapt, modify, and/or adjust their planned curriculum for strategies that will both meet the course objectives and individual student needs
Barry Westling
Being student centered will help you relate to the students and also will help build rapport with the students and this will lead better classroom management and participation
Dana,
Yes, students pay a lot of money to attend and expect the teacher to have that competent expertise and knowledge to guide students to their chosen career.
Barry Westling
Tara,
Calling students by their name is an especially good idea when a new class begins. It personalizes and directs attention to specific individuals. After a time (when all know each other names) a teacher can reference other students to make a point; such as: "this is like Jack said, and Sally added to, but notice it differed from Susie, Bill, and Bob's answer?"
Barry Westling
Mr. Westling,
I agree with you! I also say that working with adults in a career college classroom always keeps me on my toes.
I learned quickly that my plan for how to "teach" my students was not going to cut it! With a diverse student population I needed to get every person involved for the class to be a sucess. I make iot a priority to quickly learn names so I can engage the students and keep learning at the student level.
Tara,
I believe most teachers come to the classroom already quite competent in their specialty area of expertise. As you imply, our personal knowledge about a subject really has little to do with the more important responsibility to convey that information to our students. Teaching (or facilitating) a class is work, and requires concentration on doing it the best we can to assure the students are getting the needed material. And being sensitive to how our delivery is coming across can determine whether students get that needed information or not. As a student centered teacher, it's likely they will.
Barry Westling
Dana,
Good thoughts. Having a sense about the effectiveness of our delivery can contribute to making adjustments or modify what we say, do, and act, and the activities we plan when we keep the focus on how students are or will respond. Student centered keeps students needs and interests at the forefront of planning our classes.
Barry Westling
Very important point regarding preparation! Teaching new classes, I really have to spend time to "know" my information so I can focus on the students-- not on my own mastery of the subject matter!
I think we should always think about how the student will interact with us. I often think about how I would feel if I was the student sitting in the chair listening to my own lecture. Being conscience about how you hold attention in the class is the key to retention.
Paul,
Right. I think teachers can get caught up in their curriculum and what they want to do so much that sometimes they lose sight of their purpose of being there for their students. Student centered teachers are willing to be flexible, tolerant of variations in performance, patient, and approachable to assist students. As you say, when students feel that connection, they will likely to better.
Barry Westling
You are serving your students by putting them first. This action demonstrates to your students you care about them and their success. This is a tremendous motivator for the students and will result in them working harder and achieve better results. Especially when they know the teacher cares.
Karl,
No doubt, this is good information. I think student centered teachers are willing to veer off track from their prepared curriculum to get students to learn the needed material. A teacher may possess the most awesome curriculum, yet if some students have difficulty with understanding, a great curriculum isn't going to help them. Individualized and personal attention can, and this focus on student needs rather than "curricular needs" can make the difference in student success or failure in some cases.
Barry Westling
By presenting relavent, career focused material, a student centered instructor meets the needs of their students and addresses pertinant themes for the students success..............successful students, in tune instructor.
Theresa,
Right, personalized, individualized, even if it means deviating from the curriculum a bit, or spending more time on certain subjects, or more time with remediation befor or after class, or during office hours.
Barry Westling
When you are a student center instructor, is to put the students needs before yours. This means that you will make sure the struggling student receives all the help he or she can get.
Roxsie,
The biggest challenge I face is a fixed curriculum that has elements that must be covered. And like most users in this forum, there isn't a whole lot of extra time. Nonetheless, any time we can indivudualize our instruction, that personalization will yield graet results. I see it happen all the time, which encourages me to keep it up.
Barry Westling
Focusing on the students will keep them motivated, encouraged, and help them be successful in your class. They will feel that you truly care about their success. If your students are successful then you will be successful as an instructor.
