Peer observation and faculty in-services have helped me discover some new techniques.
You do find that there are different levels of motivation out there. In my education the only really acceptable grade was an A. It is interesting and challenging to see students who are perfectly happy with any passing grade. Getting them to raise their expectations is a challenge.
I have one student who raves all class long about things she never knew before that she can do in MS Office. She didn't know much about it before this, but it's still fun to hear her go on and on about how much she's learning!
Excellent point on being yourself, I know that there are a lot of methods I see others using that I simply couldn't do! Works for them but it wouldn't work for me.
I tend to get a little lecture heavy in classes where there is much material to discuss. I need to build in more meaningful activities that not only illustrate important concepts but also advance the course.
What type of articles do you read? There are a lot of articles out there for teaching, but I don't know which are any good!
Wendy,
I totally agree. When I started as new instructor, I was assigned a mentor and I would not have survived without her.
It was really helpful to get ideas that had worked for her and also things that she had tried and had not been successful. It gave me a basline to begin with and from there I have been able to develop a style that works for me as well as my students, because it is adaptable.
Hi Nancy,
Well said about being a "hands on" instructor. You are really modeling what the profession should be. Your nurses will respect you and use you as an example of how they themselves can be of value to their profession and their patients.
Gary
Hi Lynne,
You mention several key elements of teaching success when it comes to longer classes. One of those being variety. By changing pace, activities and groupings you can keep the students engaged.
I teach 3 hour block classes so I am in the same situation you are and I use many different strategies to keep my students focused and engaged.
Gary
Hi Carrie,
These kinds of professional development activities also keep you charged up and excited about teaching. This to me is part of the fun of being an instructor, I get to keep on learning.
Gary
Hi Gary,
Thanks for this information and follow up. Let me know how this works out for you and your students.
Gary
I like to get new ideas from continuing education seminars, colleagues in my career field, internship site supervisors, national and local associations, and current articles on new trends in my field.
Knowing yourself, where your strengths and weaknesses are does help when you encounter unpredictable events in the classroom. I know that sometimes I find myself shifting gears and using two or three different instructional styles to keep a class engaged and make good use of a teachable moment. Classroom experience and reflection help when it comes to analyzing what you could do differently next time.
I think observing other instructors is an excellent way to enhance my instructional style. As instructors we don't know what we don't know. Watching others is a good way to find new ideas for what we can do better ourselves.
I will take classes that pertain to my subject matter, read educational articles, and attend all inservices provided by my college. From these, I can take the information and apply them to my teaching.
Finding a mentor is the best way to learn different approaches to an instructional style. An instructional style needs to be adaptive to the environment. Each new class bring a new dynamic ... the instructional style needs to adapt to that environment to reach the audience.
Most of my teaching is done at the bedside with student nurses. I have a very non-threatening approach with my students. Although I am their instructor, I am also there at the bedside as a nurse. I have found it extremely effective to be a hands-on instructor and not just someone who stands in the background and observes. This really emphasizes the team-approach to caring for patients. I remember a nursing instructor I had many years ago - and I just couldn't respect her. She never got her hands dirty, so to speak, and I almost wondered if she ever really took care of a patient, or just talked about it. I love being right there helping, teaching by example and watching the students grow in their confidence level and I quietly back away during the semester. I have always told students that I would never ask them to do anything I wasn't willing to help them do!
I like the idea of knowing yourself to move forward. I think it would be worth it to look back over the courses I've taught in the last few years to consider what worked best and where I might have gone wrong. There are times when my instructional style doesn't work with a certain type of class. What are those situations and how can I learn to flex around different situations? Reflection seems like a fine technique.
Hi Amalia,
Good way to make each student feel special in terms of support and help. Hands on learning is the integration of knowledge and skills. The more we can do that the more our students will retain.
Gary
I The techniques I could employ to further develop my instructional style woyld be ask good questions and to write carefully.
