Organized and prepared to teach
Why is it important for an instructor to organized and prepared for each class?
Erin,
Yes, we need to convey we are ready, prepared, knowledgeable, competent, and confident. Those preparations, along with being approachable, patient, good sense of humor, being authentic and sincere will provide a good platform for the students to give us their trust and respect.
Barry Westling
Being organized and prepared shows respect for your students because they are paying for their instruction and they should not have to waste any of it because the instructor is not prepared.
It also allows the instructor to have some credit with the students. If the instructor does not come to class prepared and organized, why should the students do the same.
Hi John:
Lets face it - an organized instructor just has a smoother time of things and is more ready to answer questions that are out in left field.
Regards, Barry
Hi Heidi:
Absolutely - and how do you think a student would feel if the instructor was consistently disorganized and unprepared? Exactly the opposite!
Regards, Barry
Hi Don:
Indeed - think of the potential negative impact it can have when the instructor is consistently disorganized.
Regards, Barry
Hi Warren:
I like to think of students as both our customers, as well as our product to the world. Especialy in career oriented courses.
Regards, Barry
Hi Sandra:
Flipping that coin over - unpreparedness may create a stressful learning environment for both the instructor and student alike.
Regards, Barry
Hi Arlene:
You're probably correct about how the students would feel in that situation. That's the key point we need to consider with the idea of coming to class prepared - the negative impact to the learning environment if we aren't prepared.
Regards, Barry
Hi Thomas:
In addition, the class will flow more smoothly, and the instructor will probably feel more readily able to answer questions that are off topic/out of the blue.
Regards, Barry
Hi Scott:
Conversely, disorganization may also create a negative impact on the learning environment.
Regards, Barry
Hi Donald:
Indeed - and the opposite effect tends to occur as well - when the instructor is unprepared, that may result in a loss of credibility from the student.
Regards, Barry
Hi Lisa:
And, if we are consistently disorganized, that may convey the opposite of what you describe.
Regards, Barry
Hi Kimberlee:
Or, from the same token, if we are conssitently disorganized, it may give the student an excuse to tune out, causing them to miss key information.
Regards, Barry
Hi Mark:
We owe our student coortesy of of our time and attention - and that includes preparation, time, effort, planning, and putting it all together to make it a significant and memorable learning experience.
Regards, Barry
Hi Wilfred:
Maintaining interest is key for retention of information. I think this is especially true for adult learners.
Regards, Barry
Hi Shantana:
I agree, the instructor is more likely to be calm when they are prepared. And this will help set a "safe" feeling with the students promoting an ability for them to ask questions as they arise rather than holding back for fear of interrupting the instructor.
Regards, Barry
Hi Perry:
Students can definitely see if the instructor is unprepared for class. From personal experience, I notice that students tend to tune out when this happens. What a terrible thing if this became the norm - if so, the student might miss osmething really important the next time through.
Regards, Barry
Hi Warren:
These are great points. Something else to consider might be to maintain consistent organization when teaching. To do otherwise promotes a loss of credibility in the instructor.
Regards, Barry
Hi Elizabeth:
You are so correct - setting a conducive tone is key to helping student's feel safe in the learning environment. How else are they to feel comfortable with asking questions if they don't feel safe?
Regards, Barry
