Hi Sidney,
I agree about the white board. The board seems to take away the ability to spell and write for many instructors. Your idea with the overhead is a good one. I would suggest the use of PP as well. By having a PP presentation prepared you can concentrate on your delivery and class presence without having to focus on what you are writing on the board. Once you get comfortable with the class you then can move to the board and you will find writing on it much easier. I wish you much success in the classroom and lab. You are going to do fine.
Gary
Hi Tim,
Thanks for sharing this strategy for "breaking" in a new instructor. The method you used allowed him to find his own comfort level within the classroom setting.
Gary
I am a new instructor,And yes I am extreamly nervous in front of my peers,but not so much with students,I havent yet started with my own class , but when I was teaching in the field with apprentice techs,it was so easy,I really enjoy doing this, its alot of fun,Now standing at the white board while writing is a hole nother world,I think the white board is a brain magnet,I lose all thought.So we are going to do more overhead projector and slowly move to the board,I think this will help me alot.
I have a new Instructor in training at this time.
He was very nervous about being in front of people. I took him into several classrooms and let him do a Q&A with students. His fears were reduced with each interaction. The students were very interested in his past working experience and I can tell that his personality will fit well. I am going to have a few Instructors do a preview of his last presentation before he presents it to management. This was his suggestion. He too will make a great Instructor in the future.
Hi Fredrick,
Good suggestion. Thanks for sharing your strategy with us.
Gary
I do the same thing with new Instructors, put them with their peers and let them get a feel for the classroom and the students. This seems to help them alot
Hi Rob,
"Stage fright" is common for new instructors but you certainly give a different twist to this concern since you have a natural on your hands. Most of the "stage fright" instructors I encounter need some additional skills to help them move from being subject matter experts to instructional delivery experts.
One of the things we do is to assign new instructors to senior faculty. This way the senior faculty can help to support and mentor new faculty. In the case the case with this instructor it seemed that he needed encouragement that he was in fact doing a good job of teaching. This is true for many new instructors, plus they need to develop their planning and delivery skills as well. We also use personal development plans that give specific steps that will help the instructor to progress toward being a master teacher. These PDPs really help new instructors to focus on their needed development areas. Plus, they know that they have the college and other faculty behind them. Really helps with self confidence.
Good to hear that you have a great instructor on your faculty.
Gary
This has happened many times in our schools history. Sometimes they have excused themselves from the class and left never returning. Others have gotten physically sick they were so scared. I combat this by having new instructors spend as much time as possible presenting in front of their group of peers then to a group they are not familiar with. This seems to make them more comfortable when the actual day comes. Many have commented that it was harder to present to their peers on a daily basis than the actual class. I have still had a few however that just can not get over speaking to a group and did not complete their training for this reason. Speaking to a group is a fear that many people can not overcome.
