Hi Sharon:
Nice perspective on your teaching style. I like you"heart" comment, because it's really trure. Students will pick up on whether a teacher is really interested in helping a student be succesful. As for keeping interest, if the student can see how it will help them in the workforce, that can be emphasized. It is great when students awaken to class purpose.
Regards, Barry
Being a student-centered instructor allows me to enjoy my career and reporting to work with a positive, upbeat attitude. I want to see my students be successful in life and become lifelong learners. The reverse is also true - I learn from my students just as I mentor them. Students are very astute as any age and they can determine if an instructor doesn't have their heart in their career. The greatest challenge to an instructor is to teach a required class that students have no interest in but eventually see them become in involved in the course content and lectures.
Hi Christropher:
You bet, I agree. The sense the students feel towrds their instructors interest in their successfulnes is real. I think it starts and is maintained by taking time and being patient, establishing a personal connection with each student.
Regards, Barry
If the students know that you are there for them and not just taking air-space, they wil be more responsive to you and the information they receive from you.
Hi Stephen:
I agree if we can make the material more interesting we are going to have better student performance.
Our experience is usually what has broght us to teach a particular class. But to the student, they have little experience, at least to start with. So we want to take that moldable clay and turn it into someone who is safe, knowlegeable, and employable in the workforce. That has to be done on a 1-to-1 basis - an individual student to teacher connection for the student to feel as though the teacher really cares about their learning and successfulness.
Regards, Barry
If you make it about their learning, then the students will become interested in the material and can find how it applies to them. If you make it about yourself and your ability to teach the material then they will become either defensive or bored thinking that you are just talking to hear yourself talk and have no true interest in them.
Well, I think that most of our students are energized by the idea that their classes or instructors are receptive to them. That is, the class is about them as much as it is about any given subject matter. They want to know that we're not only talking about how to cook beef, but we're also talking about how THEY learn how to cook beef. I guess it's a self-actualization thing. A student deserves to feel that the school or class needs them as much as they need it, which we do.
Hi Darron:
Great!. Being current and up to date provides you the opportunity to really prepare your students for the workforce. When they see that you are on top of your profession, I think that instills their confidence in you as an instructor as well.
Regards, Barry
It's really about sharing your knowledge & experiences w/ the students. As the instructor, they look to you as the expert, I try to make sure that I am as informed & educated as I can possibly be. By doing my research daily for a class that I have taught numerous times, I not only help to educate myself, but I gather information for the class that is current & up to date. It also shows them that I take their learning as seriously as they do. I strive to be the kind of instructor that students can rely on, not only for class content, but to be understanding & flexible as well.
Hi Cindy:
Yeah! And who doesn't want some fun in their lives? I agree that when we think about our instructional duties from the perspective of the student they're just going to do better,. Why? Because in this environment, we seek to understand the student and their needs so that we better assist them in their learning.
I'll tell you, most students are very appreciative of even the most modest of assistance and care. When a teacher recieves positive feed back from a student who feels this way, our job's suddenly become much more satisfying.
Regards, Barry
It should be about the student right? I think being student-centered shows that you have compassion and caring for your student and you are there "for the student".
When instructors get in the mode of "here for the paycheck" then they simply are going through the motions. When they get to know and directly relate to their students, that is where the fun begins!
Hi Charles:
I think you are on track. This idea is simply looking at things from the point of view that students end up learning what they're supposed to (versus standardized institutional lesson plans that may or may not result in learning). I like your sentiment about being inspired. That usually takes a lot of passion by the instructor.
Regards, Barry
I instruct gunsmithing students in the specific techniques and procedures of custom gunstock making and gunfitting. However, the underlying motivation for the school, and for me, is the students' internalization of the mindset of the craftsman. In my experience, methods can be demonstrated and taught, but true craftsmanship is elicited or inspired. For me, being a student-centered instructor means directing my efforts toward what might be done in future by my students. My challenge is to encourage the craftsman-to-be while providing training in exceptional workmanship.
Hi Keyasha:
Student centered instructor - wow, what a wonderful idea! I think students benefit more from this kind of engagement, more so than being lectured to.
Regards, Barry
Being a student centered instructor will help take the focus off the instructor and direct it towards the students. The main purpose and goal of the class. By shifting the focus from the instructor to the student the responsibility and respect for the knowledge offered is achieved. It has been proven that student center classes are a better alternative learning style. It takes the student from the rigor of traditional classroom setting where the focus is on the instructor. This format has the students developing their own questions, explinations, debates and brainstorming. This can also lead to cooperative learning where students can peer teach in small groups. This places the accountability on the students for success not the instructor.
