New instructor
I'm a new instructor in the university setting. I have worked professionally in sales and graphic design and am now entering the instructional venue. I'm very excited to get started and was wondering which of my existing skill sets do you think would be most valuable to start: 1) my sales background, or 2) my technical background and why? Thanks.
Hi Jane,
I am a new instructor and have much to learn. I have found that a point system for attendance, class participation, and timliness works well. I try to lay out some firm expectations at the beginning of the course......and then I let the students suffer the consequences. With adult students we instrstructors should not have to be chasing students down to get their work in on time, nor should we have to go over material a second time for someone that misses class. These students need to be held accountable for their effort or lack there of.
Hi Jane,
Thank you for these comments concerning your transition from high school teaching to career college teaching. Your experience and perspectives are valuable to other teachers making the same career move as you have done.
Good to hear how you have read the situation and developed a plan for working with challenging students. We, college teachers need to maintain class discipline but we have to do it in a manner that enables the students to correct the behaviors but not drop out. Sounds like you have found some way to do this.
Gary
Hi Jane,
Even though I have taught adults before, this career school is different. I have encountered many of the same problems you are. Check out your student handbook. Most of your problem behavior should be addressed there. That will back you up. We also give a grade for uniform and attendance, a max total of 96pts for the term. Being late from breaks, disruptive behavior the 1st time, and dress code violations are reflected in that score. My program director and the director of ed. were great resources letting me know my options for disciplining indivual students. Good Luck with your new situation.
The students who have posted information in this thread appear to have all worked in the industry before entering teaching; my situation is a bit different. I taught junior high school for one year and high school for six years before teaching college. I am finding that transitioning from a high school teacher to a college teacher is a bit difficult. My main concern has been classroom discipline. The majority of my students are older than I am, so it is difficult for me to correct their inappropriate behavior, such as surfing the Internet, texting on their cell phones, and talking loudly to each other about things not related to class when they should be focused on our class activities. I am learning the importance of stating my expectations clearly on the first day of class and asking them to step outside if they need to make a call, respond to a text message, or discuss a non-class-related-matter with someone. The most important insight I think I had as I went through forum 1 is the importance of not being an enabler and not being the students' pal, but rather their cheerleader and supporter. College students are like high school students in that they will test their teacher to see what they can get away with.
Hi Susan,
I'm not sure what the lecture information entails so I will try to answer to the best of my ability in terms of how to capture their interest. Can you present a concept and the illustrate it with an example. Student like this approach. Because they get to hear and see the concept and then see an example of it immediately. This helps to keep their interest and they don't become so bored as when you go on and on. Also limit your concept presentation to 15-20 minutes and then give the examples this way you let them "reset" their brains which help to hold their attention.
If you have any questions about any of this please let me know and I will get right back to you.
Thanks.
Gary
I am also a new instructor in a post-secondary technical school. I am a professional EMT. I teach courses for First Responder and EMT in a Criminal Justice Program. My students are out of their interest area with all of the medical content these EMS classes require. I have my students for a 4 - 50min hr block 4 days per week. Past students have done well in the state EMS certification testing, so I am passing the content and skills to them. But, I also do a good job of boring them during lectures. They need the lecture info before we can do the hands on stuff. How do I bridge this gap?
Hi Dina,
Welcome to teaching I wish you much success in helping your students achieve their dreams.
Develop mini-lectures that have specific content you want to cover in 15-20 minutes. Then have an activity that helps the students to review and use the new material or concepts that have been covered. This change of instructional delivery allows the students to reset their minds and keep engaged in the learning process. Use a lot of concrete examples, stories of your about your work experience and media to keep their attention. By using the revolving method of lecture, activity to reinforce concepts and then lecture again, etc. You will be able to get through all of the material that is required and keep the students focused.
Gary
Hello! I am a new instructor at a vocational school teaching Phlebotomy. I have 12 years background in the field. I feel confident that I have the skills and the personality to teach and I really enjoy it. Our class time is divided in half; lecture and lab. Regarding the lecture portion of the class, Im am looking for some practical advice to help the students absorb the material. The program is 16 days, and they have a lot of information to absorb in new terminology for many of them.
Any ideas are welcome!
Thank you,
Dina
Thank you for your response, it is very helpful. I hope to be able to use the many pieces that make up my professional career so I can provide my students with the broadest knowledge base I can based on my past experiences. I'm planning on adding a bit of a "sales pitch" to my delivery.
Thanks again.
Hi Bart,
Welcome to the profession of teaching. I wish you much success in your new career. You ask a very good question because you bring to the classroom two areas of expertise that will serve you well as an instructor.
Your sales experience gives you insight into people, their motivation and processing of information in relation to whether they purchase from you or not. This is what teaching is about in many ways. You are sharing information with them and they need to decode that information to see if they are going to "buy" it and make it a part of their knowledge base. Your technical knowledge gives you the creditability needed to be able to instruct the students. Use your sales skills to deal with the social/emotional aspects of teaching and your technical skills to share content.
You have a great background to become a very effective instructor. Look for ways you can integrate these two skill areas into your instructional delivery.
Gary
