Good perspective with regard to the expectations for a learner in a non-major subject, we as educators too often apply an inappropriate absorption requirement on those who likely never want to touch our discipline once they have finished the course.
Hi Tony,
Yes it is a technique and a good one. It is a method I have used over the years to reflect on how and why I did certain things and what the results were. This has really helped me to keep my focus on instructional improvement.
Gary
Hi Jerry,
This is why you keep coming back day after day. The fact that you are impacting a life and creating a legacy for years to come.
Gary
Hi Ebony,
Love your attitude. This excitement has to rub off on your students. You are the leader of the band and they are going to follow you down the street to the career parade. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Hi Joy,
Student feedback is critical if we are going to improve our instructional delivery. By listening we can continue to get better each time we offer the course.
Gary
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing this story. It made me smile because this is what keeps us instructors coming back course after course. A student like this that really getting it. She is going to have a great career.
Gary
Hi John,
An excellent source of professional development articles is the Techniques Journal put out by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). Every month that have ideas, strategies, and resources that can help career instructors.
Gary
Yes, I found that too! Providing a meaningful context for students to share their personal experience is a great way to stimulate conversation, especially in a discussion forum of an online class.
I greatly value direct interaction with students in residential classes, and getting immediate feedback on the approaches that I use. Now, I’m trying to bring that into my online classes. I’m also exploring some options to incorporate some new learning objects, simulation software, simple software testing tools, social media and more. I find professional publications very useful and enjoy The Teaching Professor and Online Classroom from Magna! Viewing webinars and online presentations from other instructors are also of great help.
I try to work with the students on an individual basis as much as possible. All of my teaching has been online. 99% of the time, I don't ever get to meet the students. In math and accounting (the subjects I teach), it's important to be able to see the steps you need to solve the problems. I frequently use instant messages to help the students learn and understand the process of solving problems.
I think that if refining instructional style comes out of enthusiasm for teaching and for the subject (which others have mentioned), it takes on an important aspect of professional development as well as adding motivation to make a meaningful effort.
Something that I find helpful is that I love teaching. I have been particularly challenged recently because I am teaching online for the first time. I was very excited to see students applying the concepts of the class in their daily lives and have looked at improving my instructional style to encourage this.
I'm not sure if this is a technique, but I could reflect in a journal how each teaching method I used during class worked and how it could be improved.
One thing I use routinely is the telling of stories that relate to the topic. Obviously, they are based on experience, but many are humorous, most are impactful to the students and help them remember difficult concepts. After going through this course, I made a change. In class today, I asked the students to write me a paragraph about themselves and what subjects / hobbies / interests THEY have. It is due tomorrow. I am shifting the stories and examples to reflect their interests, and engage in more dialog with the students. Through this I expect to get a higher percentage of students involved and focused on what would otherwise be some pretty dry material.
It is most satisfing to have students come to you and thank you for the help and knowlege that you have given them.
Content knowledge and understanding help form the basis for developing a instructional style, as mentioned in other postings in this forum. I personally feel that "instructional style" is just another way of expressing a performance (e.g. acting.) If we look at the classroom as our stage and the material we impart as the script our style is how we select to mix the previous knowledge and our personality to portray the meaning/story of the content of the script.
To the point of the question: I personally use delivery practice and understanding the audience I am presenting to. The more I facilitate a learning process and the more I know about my my students allows me to tailor my presentation(s) in unique and understandable ways to the students.
I LOVE teaching and everyday learn more and more. I learn alot from the students and really take in feedback they are giving me. I try on a regular basis to have them update me on things I can do so they can learn better.
Ask the students! If I am trying out a new activity, it's important for me to ask "How was that?" "What should be done differently next time?"
Yes I agree with that. In service meetings are great. I find that I learn new techniques from others many times.
I have found that my instructional style has improved by dressing to the profession. The students appreciate the "real world" feel of the classroom. I also encourage fun and interactive learning through hands on activities and questioning during lecture.
Observing other instructors is helpfull as it gives you the students perspective, hence you can judge the effectiveness of alternative styles and compare to what you do all at the same time! SWEET!
