I agree. Knowing that you've made a positive impact in the lives of the students is emotionally rewarding. I can do teaching for free.
Hi John,
Good point that you are making with your students. Everyone wants to be exceptional but they don't want to invest the effort to be such. Your explanation of where they are going to end up in their career and pay scale helps make that picture clear.
Gary
Hi Michelle,
Great tip for professional development. We use the CASE method at our college. Copy And Share Everything. Meaning we share everything we can because it helps us all to be better at what we do.
Gary
I do teach Psychology too. Students love examples that applies to their lives. They tend to expect you to be kinder than other instructors since you as psychology instructor knows and understand human behavior:)
I did this before I went on my lecture demo. It was effective because I was able to see my weaknesses such as mannerisms etc. which I tried to avoid doing. I maintained the things that I like from the video such as the loudness of my voice and my facial expressions as well.
I am in hiatus from the academe for seven years. I just got hired as an instructor. It is a different world/country, a different generation and different kind of clientele. It is tough for me to be honest. I make sure I know what I am talking about in front of the class. I read a lot of related literature regarding the topic for the day. I made sure that rapport with the students was established. I exerted efforts in remembering all their names and their faces. I involve them a lot with our discussions. I open communications with them through email and I make myself available for questions and consultations after the class.
This is a great idea Michelle. I just started teach a new course today and I asked my supervisor to give me access to the course from last session. Seeing how the instructor interacted with the students, the supplemental information she used and her grading rubrics were very helpful.
That actually sounds like quite a bit of time Karen! I applaud you for your initiative. One of the schools where I teach requires us to contact each student during the first week. While it is time consuming and cumbersome, I agree with you that it does answer a lot of questions up front which may save time (and frustration) later.
I am not sure at this point, recognize that different people have different ways of understanding what is being said or shown to them so I need to keep that in mind while instructing.
I meet wit the students twice before the Externship program start, first time is to review the resume and cover letter the second time is to actually apply for the site they have selected, this two meeting given then the confident and courage to apply to any place and complete their dream to be a Chef, also provide us a good feed back about our program.
I try to spend at least 5-10 minutes with each student over the course of each class. It may not seem like a long time, but I can learn a lot of information from the student during that time. How they feel that they are doing in the class and at school. I can also find out if there is anything going on outside of the classroom that effects how they are learning. Also, if there is a language problem, this one on one time allows the student to ask questions he/she may have been too embarrased to ask aloud.
In my department is always a great help " one on one " interviews with the students, specially to help them to connect their dream with the perfect site for every student
In my 25 years or so of teaching at the college level, I have found that being present, engaged and prepared are the keys to success in the classroom. Asking probing questions, going beyond the material presented in the text/discussion boards and integrating outside/external resources which support the material being presented can enhance the instructional style.
Great info. I usually also equate grading to their earning potential in their careers. Do they want to be an average C student and make an average salary doing an average job or would they like to do "A" work and make an excellent salary. They can usually make the connection.
I always find it helpful to talk to other instructors who teach/have taught the classes I'm teaching. I bring up current problems that I'm having and find out how they deal with similar issues. I also exchange handouts with them. We both come away from the exchange with different ways of looking at the class content and with new resources (handouts) to help fill in the gaps we may not have even known we had. I've gained a lot of insight this way!
Michelle
Hi Andrea,
Great plan for continued professional development. You are soon going to have a great number of ideas and strategies that you can use with your classes as a result of your efforts.
Gary
I could spend time observing other instructors in courses that I take or other courses in my department. I could then talk to theses instructors and ask them what they have found to be effective. This way I build up my repertoire of available instructional styles. This way I can choose the appropriate style given the instructional situation or course content.
Hi Karla,
This method also keeps everyone involved since they are never sure who will be called upon and they don't want to be embarrassed by not knowing anything about the topic being discussed.
Gary
Hi Mindy,
Thank you.
Gary
In order to further develop and enhance my instructional style I would like to keep testing my students knowledge and see how much they have retained. For example: if I'm conducting a lecture, ask questions from previews lectures and ask specific individuals to answer. By calling specific students by their names, they will feel a little more pressure to stay on top of what they have already learned. They will assumed that they will be called at any time and need to know the subject a little better. This technique will keep the student on top of what they have already learned and keep studying to be ready for future lectures.
