Brandon,
You raise a very interesting question. Generally individuals over the years have acquired the skills needed to react and respond to different settings. In the case of students though many of them have not had the life experiences needed to respond to different settings like those you describe. They need to hear and learn about how to retain their professionalism and provide the needed services for their employment. I would bring in individuals from the field and have them talk to the students about boundaries, behavior and real world realities. This way they can get the message while you are able to retain your position as the learning leader.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Professionalism is difficult to define. I work in the music industry and teach classes about live sound.
Being on the job requires you to have an open mind. Artists come in and trash green rooms, use vulgar language, and drink to excess or use drugs in plain sight.
Being able to be around this sort of behavior and maintain your composure is a crucial part of the job. Most of my students will work in bars after graduation. They need to understand the importance of moderation.
The truth of the matter is, a lot of the "professionals" my students look up to in the music industry are pretty unprofessional.
How do you balance these concepts in the classroom?
Students need to know the most professional way to act, but they also need to know what to expect in the real world.
What about the adage "do as I say, not as I do"? Should I demonstrate how they SHOULD act, or how people ACTUALLY act?
Rebecca,
Not sure what you mean by this. Can you expand your thoughts in relation to your definition of professionalism? Thanks.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
through verbral communication with the students
Floyd,
Great definition because you hit all of the key elements needed to display professionalism while extending the human factor and making you a part their learning and career development. This is what we should be about each time we interact with students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Defining Instructional Professionalism
by Floyd Mitchell Raines
Defining Instructional Professionalism is defined as translating the image the student learner might have into an actual example of what a professional is. Titles come and go but knowledge should remain and a true professional will reflect the persona to translate that knowledge to the student. In other words "become all things to all people". What good is the knowledge if the professional's definition comes down to being uptight and unapproachable. With that the knowledge is dead can not be passed on. A professional who is approachable and has found a way to translate their knowledge effectively is the true definition of what professionalism should be.
James,
Thanks you for sharing this definition. It hits on all of the key components of what it takes to be a learning leader and have an impact on the lives of students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
My definition of instructional professionalism would be an instructor that exhibited the following characteristics. The educator understands the different learning needs of students and maintains high standards from students. The professional instructor maintains standards by utilizing a variety of developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate instructional strategies. The professional instructor organizes, allocates, and manages the resources of time, space, and attention to engage students in learning. The professional instructor is aware of State standards and references them during instruction. The professional instructor displays appropriate and ethical assessment principles. The professional instructor is a team member that participates in the decision making and shares the responsibility for student learning outcomes. The professional instructor is an advocate for student, school, and profession. The professional instructor develops a professional learning plan based on personal needs, student needs, and the needs of the university. The professional instructor continues scholarly pursuits to increase his or her knowledge and skill to contribute to the knowledge and skill of students and to develop the advance professional practice of nursing. In all things the professional instructor exhibits and models ethical and professional behavior.
Reference
Utah Education Network, (UEN), (n.d.). Utah Effective Teaching Standards Retrieved from http://www.uen.org/k12educator/uets/rubric.shtml
Landis,
I like the way you blend both professionalism as an educator with professionalism of an expert in the field. This way your students get to see you as a dedicated instructor that is well prepared to teach and also as a professional that knows how to help them become professionals in their own right.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dr. Meers,
I would define instructional professionalism as knowing your subject better than anyone else in the school and being able to share that knowledge with your students in a way that they can comprehend and use it in a professional setting.
An example is since I teach in a health care college, information security is one of the subjects I cover in my Intro to Computer Science class. Security of data in a hospital setting is extremely important and not knowing how to protect patient data is dangerous and can get a nurse, physical therapist, or a respretory therapist in moral and legal trouble.
Landis
Michael,
Thank you for mentioning on of the rewards of teaching. It is such a great feeling as you mention to have a student come back and share how much you were a part of his or her career development and growth. You are doing a great job of modeling what a professional in your career field should be like.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with showing up on time. I like to be the first one in the classroom, it's nice to engage students in conversation before class begins. Our Career Services Department holds professional development classes for our students, they teach things like, interviewing skills, resume writing, dressing for success etc. As professionals we must practice what we preach. Our students look up to us as not only their instructors but roll models. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than having a student that graduated from our program, return as a successful professional in the field and thank me for everything I did to help them succeed.
Michael,
You make a good point about change. It is the only constant in teaching. No matter how much you prepare you are never sure that the lesson will go the way you have planned it. So by staying current and having multiple approaches ready you will be able to keep the course on target and moving forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Instructional professionalism involves knowing how you except change and feel about progress of a class. I have to be very aware of my degree of acceptance of change so that I don't allow change to interfere with my ability to be proactive in delivering instruction. Of course instruction is always diverse and changing and to me knowing how to jump into courses and lead is really instructional professional.
Michael,
Thank you for this well written definition of professionalism for instructors. You have touched on the key elements of professionalism in a way the enables instructors to see the impact they have on the lives of their students and the future they will have in their respective fields.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
How do you define instructional professionalism?
Instructional professionalism starts by being an expert in the Subject Material and delivering application knowledge to the subject. Students learn in different ways and direct use of the materials in real world application helps students conceptualize the study. As an Electro-Mechanical –Heating and Ventilating Instructor and a Facilities Chief Engineer with a few years of experience helps drive the subject. Watching the light bulb go off in the students and or seeing a student struggle with materials helps direct classroom lecture to new directions. Important to interact with the students in lecture to gauge any adjustments needed in the presentation. The adjustment help define professionalism by showing students there is more than one way to solve a problem.
Brian,
Thank you for this well developed set of comments on defining your professionalism. This is what our students need to be exposed to as they prepare to enter their chosen career field. They need to see a role model that they can emulate and learn from so they will know how to conduct themselves once they are out in the workplace.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Instructional professionalism in my opinion covers a large swath of an instructors role. Teaching my students about aspects of aviation maintenance, to me, means not only teaching the technical parts, but also trying to be a role model in terms of professional, moral, and even to a small extent philosophical views. This is not to say I will force my world views on my students, but encourage and compel them to think and act in a way that will give them personal satisfaction and pride knowing they approached and completed a task with integrity and intelligence, even if no one else realizes the effort they put into this endeavor. I also strive to let my students know anybody in any field does not know everything about their field. It's okay to say "I don't know", but the appropriate add on should be "I can find that information for you".
Viviana,
This is how you show your students you are their learning leader. You admit not knowing the answers to all the questions asked, which is true for all of us, and then you come up with the answers after some effort and research. This is a model that your students will learn to follow as well once they see how it results in answers.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There have been many times in my classroom, where I am posed with a question from my students that I don't know the answer to. I admit my loss of an answer, and let them know that I will get back with them ASAP with the correct answer, and I do. Sometimes googling during a break seems to work, sometimes I have to call an old colleague to find it. It's important, I've seen, to show the students that I don't know everything, but I am excited to find out the answer together, and this leads to more discussion. I love it!
