Hi Tamar,
What have you found to be the most beneficial input you have received in your instructional growth and where did that income come from?
Gary
Hi Alexandria,
Good instructional development plan. You are getting input from a wide variety of sources. I know as a result of the input from other professionals, self-reflection and student input you are going a global picture of what you are doing instructionally and how you can add to your expertise.
Gary
you took the words right out of my mouth!! It is quite flattering when my students comment on my compassion and that they want to be as compassionate as I am with the patients.
Some of the techniques I can employ to further develop, refine, and enhance my istructional style are:
know my past, know my college, know my students, know my subject matter, know my colleages, and know myself.
I like to do my own mid-term assessment or formative evaluation in addition to a summative eval just to see where students stand. I do it as a group activity and they post pro[s and con[s of the class. WE then look at what students like and dislike and see how we can create a win win scenario.
Definitely helps to be organized. I plan my daily course activities on an excel spreadsheet by activity and time. It helps to chart the entire week and include all my weekly activities.
I find that spending time watching other professors teach your same class can really help you find your own voice and style. I like to observe other teachers and then evaluate what I liked about their teaching and what I would improve on. We're all in this together so I try to steal whatever I can to make my own instructional style the best I can for my students.
I also like to take notes after every class to determine what worked with my students and what didn't. Each class has a different personality and by re-reading my notes I can apply different techniques to find what will work best for my current class.
I like to pause during instruction to get instant feedback from the class as to what their understanding is of the subject matter being discussed. At that time I encourage all students to join in on the discussion so the class, and myself, can benefit from everyones perception of the information. We focus on different ways of learning and how each student can help another by sharing their own techniques.
During these discussions, I am taking notes regarding any commonalities in learning techniques. I later take this information into account when planning the next lesson. This way I don't have to wait until I get the results of a survey, I can address my teaching style and the class learning style on a regular basis.
I am constantly looking to my students. Do they respond best to analogies, examples, war stories, humor, sharing their own experiences, etc.?
It is an important ability to read your students and then decide what will give them the best stratigy for learning.
i enjoy asking the students what works, and what doesnt. i enjoy the after class survey, it really pin points critcal items to pay closer attention to during the next chance you have to do a course.
self evaluation and constant studing makes it easy to be a great instructor.
I think it all comes down to feedback and self awareness. We all like to think we are the best instructors ever to open a text book but, in reality, we all have shortcomings that can be approved. Soliciting feedback from both students and colleagues is a great way to address they shortcomings. But as an instructor, you have to be open to the constructive criticism.
Rebecca,
Getting student feedback during the course itself is extremely useful to modifying course content as the course is ongoing. Find out at the end of the term only helps the students in the next section of the class.
I like to get student feedback at the end of each unit to get the students to self-reflect on their learning and give me feedback on what was challenging, what confused them, and what they wished they knew after completing a unit.
I try to view their comments in context and use it to modify the next unit to improve their learning expereince.
I do try to "codify" any changes I make by adding an "ammendment" to the syllabus if you will. By putting the changes in writing, it shows that the change is going to be consistent for the rest of the class and that I am willing to modify the class to improve student learning, but not to accomodate student apathy.
Sometimes my willingness to change course content can lead students to try to inspire change that simply "makes their life easier" vs. improving their educational experience.
Have you provided evaluationa opportunities for your students withing a class? Can you offer any suggestions in that area?
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Alexandria
Dr. Meers,
I try to use multiple methods to improve my teaching including in class feedback, reflection on student performance, student evaluations, colleague evaluations, self-reflection, and observation of other teaching styles.
Whether I'm teaching online or in person, I like to take time at the end of each unit to discuss student progress and my teaching. It's a great time to get feedback on the class and what I can do to help improve the educational experience.
Looking at student performance shows me what they're learning. If I notice that there is a certain element of class content that students are stuggling with across the board, I will review it in class and take another tact in presenting it to be sure that they're all learning and applying the material.
I also pay close attention to my student evaluations. It's a great opportunity to identify my instructional weakness in general and those that are specific to the class I've been teaching.
Colleague evaluations are also a good way to get feedback on my teaching. I use the feedback I receive from evaluations by my peers or superiors to modify my teaching the next time I teach the same course.
Self-reflection is also important. It forces me to evaluate my approach to a class and modify my techniques accordingly.
I learn a lot by watcing other people teach. It usually gives me great ideas on new things to try in my own classes.
Thank you for your time and your feedback.
Sincerely,
Alexandria
Hello Dr. Meers and Fellow Students,
In regards to student surveys, the part of the survey that I find most useful is often the part that most students only gloss over or skip all together. I find the write in responses to be the most useful because they allow the students to elaborate and provide specifics.
To encourage students to fill out this section thoroughly, I discuss how I respond to student feedback on these assessments and provide specific examples to model what I'm saying.
I find that having this talk before they complete the evaluations allows students to see how seriously I take their comments. As a result, more students provide thorough write in responses.
Thank you for your time and your feedback.
Sincerely,
Alexandria
Hi Janet,
Great to hear about your excellent resources. What types of resourced are they and how do you use them?
Gary
Personally, I attend courses and provide courses on instructional style. I enjoy learning new techniques from others and employing them in class or at a CE class. Also, conducting workshops in instructional styles has further developed my expertise in this area. As I am sure we all agree, when we instructor others we learn more for and about ourselves.
Debi Gerger
My instructional style can be improved upon by observing other successful chef instructors & professors in my college. I have excellent resources.
I have taken some classes in story telling and like this method. I use a variety of instructional approachs and try to minimize lectures and maximize group work.
I agree that feedback at the end of the course is not the best time for that feedback. At the end of the term, it is too late for the instructor to make changes to the course that would increase the learning of students who are completing the course. Providing opportunities for students to express their concerns and needs for further clarification earlier in the term would be much more beneficial to instructors and students.
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