I think it's always benefical to read books on how to improve in motivating and inspiring people. I also think it's great to get some form of feed back either from students or other instructors who may observe you in class.
Teaching paralegal students can be a real challenge for people whose last educational experience was law school! I don't think the sink or swim hardcore Socratic method would connect very well with my students, and it took a little time and energy to find new ways to communicate material that had been taught to me in a strict Socratic style.
After adding in PowerPoints, discussion topics, quizzes, video examples and other aids that were foreign to me at first, I realized that I could actually benefit by reintegrating a little of the Socratic method once the students were getting more comfortable with the material. Now that I use the style in small doses and ensure that the environment is non-threatening, my students find the style a nice change of pace from lecture and rise to the challenge of explaining new concepts back to their teacher.
I think one of things I could do that would enhance my instructional style would be quite simply, move about more. I do have a tendency to keep myself in one place when lecturing. I'm by nature a very introverted person. Teaching in general has helped me come out of my shell at bit more, but I think my lectures would be more engaging if I moved around more.
Hi Paul,
Sounds like you have a good spread in the activities and deliveries you use to share course content. What have been your biggest challenges in teaching math to career college students?
Gary
Hi Janet,
The key when teaching core courses is to develop examples of how the core content transfers to the other courses and the students' careers. If they can see application and transference they will be more motivated to do well in the core courses which enables them to go to the next level. They need to be forward in their focus and to be such they need the encouragement and support of the instructor.
Gary
Hi Glenn,
Using questioning as a teaching tool is a very effective way of getting and keeping students engaged in the learning process. You make a good point about the development of targeting questions. They have to be developed so they challenge and draw out the students.
Gary
I teach mathematics and computer science at a career college.
My main instructional style prefered for math is lecture with plenty of visual aids, and question-answer sessions. It is a very effective way of presenting this type of material.
For the computer science courses, lecture is combined with hands-on programming, discussion of techniques, and analysis of working models of functioning programs and coding routines. It is very useful to develop visual diagrams to explain the flow of information in these programming examples.
Group activities are employed in both the math and computer classes to encourage group discussion and learning. Group projects are utilized for the computer classes to encourage team building and teamwork which is essential in the computer field.
Paul
I share my current projects, that keeps movement in the courses. It shows the variety of business activities, trends in certain industries, variety of business situations. The course retains the tangible items (Textbook, lessons/exercises), which allows for stability.
Ooo, perfect, that is perfect, I am going to share that with my students as well. I frequently have students who go thru some tough times and feel alone and that they need to be alone thru their trials and tribulations -- reach out to the community so that people get a chance to support them. That is what they want to do!
When communicating with my students I have always talked about need, market demand, and try, try, try again. That motivates me, I believe it motivates them. I am happy to see students edit/fix/refine their work, I know they will be able to work to get things as perfect as they can, deal with revisionist bosses, and handle criticism or ideas on how to do things better.
What I need to develop communication skills in courses where market need/demand are not so readily apparent -- core curriculum courses vs the specialty courses.
I am very outgoing and interact with students quite a bit. I find that sometimes the quiet students won't ask questions. If I am in a classroom, I would like to use a screen to show steps in a calculator or on Excel, for example, so everyone can follow along.
I prefer a conversational approach. Creating the best questions is critical to engaging student interest and participation. Allowing enough time to prepare the questions is a large part of the challenge for me.
Hi Heather,
Your tailor made evaluation sheet is a key element in your professional growth. You can get some factual input that is more than just an end of the course phase fill out the form type of evaluation.
Gary
Hi Rtee,
This is how professional development works. Your experiences and willingness to look at other ways of doing things helped you to grow as an instructor. The student feedback helped to shape your delivery and make your efforts more focused. Well done.
Gary
Hi Rachel,
You are going to really enjoy the engagement you are going to get from your students with interactive learning. It is motivating for both the students and yourself.
Gary
Hi Carol,
Yes, yes, yes. Variety is a key element of teaching. By offering variety you keep the students engaged and focused on what needs to be learned while employing a number of different techniques that keep them from becoming bored.
Gary
Hi Rebecca,
The reflective part of your professional development is critical to growth. You make a number of very good points about how this can be done. As a result the students will benefit from having you as their instructor.
Gary
Hi Michelle,
I commend you for your professional development plan. You have a clear path for yourself in terms of how you are going to get feedback and work on improving your instructional skills. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Hi Thomas,
This is a clear example of bringing the real world into the classroom and letting the students experience it.
You are giving them hope for their future careers through the examples you are sharing.
Gary
I can enhance my instructional style by attempting to try different techniques. I currently apply lecture, lab and group activities. Leveraging audio and video could be another beneficial style to apply.
