Hi Jacqueline,
Through your comments you have created a very clear picture of a caring instructor that wants her students to succeed. This is what teaching is all about. Keep up the positive attitude I know you will continue to have success.
Gary
I have found that I need to be flexible on a daily basis bacause my students emotional energy can change day to day. I've been fortunate to have great students who want to be educated, but life can sometimes cause distractions.
My students know I care about them without needing or wanting to know everything about their personal lives, and that I want the best for them. They respond to this by pushing themselves past these personal matters to take advantage of the chance to learn what I have to teach.
Hi Mark,
As you mentioned instructional improvement is an ongoing process. By keeping your eyes and ears open to how your students are doing and where the bumpy roads are you will be able to keep learning moving forward. A suggestion for feedback is to use 3x5 cards after presenting a section, lesson or unit and let the students give you their perspectives. The input is anonymous so there is no threat. I have found that this method really helps me to improve on how I present a lesson. I like to use this with new material since I'm not sure how it will be received.
Gary
I try to develop and refine my instructional style by seeing how well my students are learning the material we have covered. Evaluating
my students work can show me what,if anything,I
need to stress more as I teach and demonstrate.
If a small problem is reaccuring from one student to another, this gives me an indication
of where I need to refine my Instructional Style,
to resolve that situation now,and I know where to make adjustments and improvements for future
instruction.
Hi George,
Observation is a powerful learning tool isn't it? We can learn so much from watching how others perform their duties. This is true whether it is a craft or teaching. I would suggest that as you observe other instructors you have in mind an idea of what you are wanting to see in their performance. I always develop either a written or mental check list of the things I want to be aware of in my observations. I put this list on a 5x7 card and that way I make sure I can make some notes about my observations. By reviewing these notes I can refresh my memory about things I need to do to improve my own delivery.
Also, I would suggest that you might want to jot down a personal improvement plan. Identify your strengths and weaknesses. This way when course come along that will help you where you think you have holes you will know how you need to approach these courses and their content. This will help you to focus on your personal improvement plan and you will know when you are accomplishing the components of it as evidenced by the items on your list.
Good luck with your development.
Gary
Having an opportunity to spend time with more experienced Instructors will help anyone and also taking few courses here an there will help you develop as an Industry Professional.
Hi William,
It is always a challenge to understand just how much the students are getting from the lecture/demonstration that you are sharing with them. We as instructors have to look for different ways of getting and processing the feedback we are receiving. A method that you might want to try is to hand out 3x5 cards after you have delivered a lecture. Ask the students to give you feedback on the delivery and content. They do this anonymously so it is low risk for the students. You will find that you receive valuable feedback on how you did. Ask the students to give you feedback on specific points that helped or hindered them in understanding certain concepts.
Another strategy you might want to try is called a structured outline. You develop an outline giving the steps that you are going to cover with the main topic headings listed. Below the topic headline will be bullets and lines for the students to follow and fill in. This approach enables the students to stay focused as well as showing them that you want them to get the specific points you've listed.
Hope these ideas are of help to you. If you have any other questions let me know.
Gary
My instructional style needs most development in the area of getting useful feedback from my students and understanding the feedback I get. Very often I will present a topic in lecture and ask if everyone understands and if anyone has questions. Oftentimes the feedback I get leads me to believe that all is right. However, we begin to do a problem on the board and it seems like hardly anyone understood much at all. I still struggle to understand when the students are getting it and when they are not.
I have begun to add a lot more problems in the class and go through them regardless of the feedback I get at the end of the lessons.
Hi Kiran,
What a great attitude about instructional improvement. Yes, we can be both teachers and students, in fact we have to be. Each day as we enter the classroom, the students offer us ways we can improve our delivery and/or content. The key is for us to be open and receptive to what the students are sharing with us, because most times what they are telling us is not said with language but with actions. We have to be very observant as instructors.
By using the buffet approach to teaching you are allowing your students to be able to pick and choose different ways of taking in new information and content. We all like variety and your change up in delivery helps to meet that need.
Gary
I have been teaching in Vocational School for about 13 years and I do vary my instructional style depending on the student group I am teaching. We train students who have to learn the skills and be able to work in the field, therefore it is essential that they are tested on their compentencies and are taught with visual and manipulations as well.
I use different means such as audiovisual. Powerpoint presentations as well as demonstrations. I also attended classes such as Principles of Adult Vocational Instruction. I was able to refine my teaching style by observing other Educators. We can be teachers and learners at the same time.
Hi Linda,
Good approach to improving your instruction. It sounds like you work hard at reviewing the evaluations and making changes where you see them needing to be made. By constantly striving to improve instruction, you are illustrating to your students that you care about not only them in their current course, but future students as well. You want to be better at what you like to. My personal mission statement is “Impacting this generation, influencing the nextâ€. Thought you might find it interesting, as you seem to be working this direction as well.
Gary
Hi Linda,
Thank you for the response to my question. You are using a very good technique in getting students to acquire new information and then utilize it. The key to learning is moving information/knowledge/content from short-term memory to long-term memory to active working memory. Moving through these three stages allows material to be dropped so check points have to be introduced to make sure the essentials of what is being taught are not lost. The reteach method helps greatly with this. Application of learning involves storage and retrieval of information and anything you can do to help the students with this enhances learning.
Gary
Gary,
I have a student evaluation form the students get to rate different areas eg. professionalism, quality of work, timeliness etc... then I respond back on the same form marking my evaluations on these topics to see if I see them the same. We then sit down and discuss anything that needs improvement and also acknowledge areas of they may have recently improved in and acknowledge areas they are doing outstanding in.
As far as improving my Instruction I have a form they fill out "rating" me. I find each class/students have different needs. I then discuss the comments/ratings they made and communicate any changes/compromises etc... that I can make.
I find they appreciate the fact that I can admit my mistakes, I'm human and that i am willing to make adjustments and fine tune anything to help in their learning process. My opinion is that it is their education and needs to work for them.
Linda
Gary,
I have them choose a lecture that I have already "delivered". They then present it to the class in a shortened version, in their own words and style. They work in groups together and brain storm their presentation then choose 1-3 students out of their group of about 8 students to present it.
J kanso
Thank you for that information. I really like the method you use of calling graduates for their input. This input I am sure give you an idea of how you are offering relevant content for your classes.
Gary
Hi Gary,
One method I use for my students is a questioner that they fill out which gives me an idea for their learning styles
(Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic/Tactual).
For my self the college conducts evaluations to
identify areas that may need change for improvement (students remain anonymous).
The school director will collect these forms and give me any feed back.
I also call old graduates who are working in the field for any ideas, suggestions or constructive criticisms.
J kanso
Hi,
The idea of constantly getting feedback from your students is a very good one. You mentioned that you keep evaluating yourself and your students all the time. What methods do you use to get this feedback. Once you get it how do you use it to improve your instruction?
Thanks
Gary
Hi Gary,
One way is I keep evaluating my self and my students to be sure I'm giving them the knowledge
that they need to succeed. It's difficult since I'm always dealing with diffrent personalities.
Hi Linda,
Thank you for your input on the first forum. Would you please clarify the way you let your students “instruct†on their favorite lecture for the 5 minute period. Do they pick the subject? Is it a mini-lecture they deliver? I think you are on to something, it just that I need a little more information to understand it.
Thanks much.
Gary
By giving your students the opportunity to "Instruct" on their favorite lecture for a 5 minute period of time is a good way to view how your students like presentations to be presented.
