I have found that being passionate about what I am teaching translates to the students perception of the material being taught. It engages them and focuses their attention. The difficulty is making sure to not allow my own personal problems from impacting my enthusiasm and passion in the classroom but also reminds me that we are all human.
I use digital recording to do teacher observations /reflections.
I tape random 10 minute segments of 3-4 classes and then collaboratively choose a topic ( questioning/time on task/ student centered activity/ use of physical presence) to exclusively look at when we review together...
You can use the same tape to look at different competencies and its very useful particularly when done in pairs
Tom Gallagher
Sandra,
Like your list. I know if you expand your expertise in these areas you are going to greatly enhance your instructional style. I wish you much success in this effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
To further develop, refine and enhance my instructional style I can employ the following techniques; observing other instructors, continueing education classes,& personal relection.
Rose,
Yes it will because it will help the students to become engaged in the learning process and excited about the learning opportunities that are being presented.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Good teaching style will enhance to communication of learning to the students.
Leslie,
These are two great strategies to provide support to your students. By letting them know you respect them as individuals and are there to support their learning efforts you are bringing the human factor to the class. This is what will earn their respect as start the development of trust.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I get to know my students so that I can assess their needs and try to meet them. I also use a notebook where I write down things that I have tried that worked well and things I have tried that did not work out. This helps me have some kind of reference point for improvement.
Danny,
Great ways to expand your knowledge and expertise as a learning leader.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I can shadow other instructors. I can talk with instructors about best practices to see what works for them and try them out. I can co-facilitate a class with another instructor
Michael,
Welcome to the rewarding world of education. I hope you have a most productive career as a learning leader. You can use you-tube content if you give credit to those who created the videos. I would think you would use these video is short clips and then have discussions around applications of the content. This way you are personalizing the content for your students and imparting your own experience into the learning process. This is how the course content will start to become real for the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As a brand new adjunct professor, I was placed in a class room to teach a subject matter I had no life experience in. I did use online lectures from you-tube often. Is this legal in the class room?
Kurt,
Looking at one's lecture can be tough but extremely valuable. I think we all need to record and view ourselves at times no matter how long we have taught. It is easy to fall into habits that annoy or distract students. Watching a recording can help us to be reminded not to repeat such behaviors and work on how we can effectively deliver our content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have used a camera to record one of my lectures. This gives me the opportunity to watch myself and place myself in the students perspective. I am a very "animated" instructor and I noticed that there were areas that I could improve on. I would not change my enthusiasm but would change certain movements or gestures. I would also slow down a bit and keep the class engaged by asking more questions.
Leslie,
I wish you much success with your effort to incorporate the value of math into the minds of your students. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Getting the students to let me know where they use math in their field, compiling a list, and developing problems from it is an excellent idea which I will definitely use. I've done some internet research on different types of welding problems in mathematics and have had some success. I need to find a book that deals with just welding math and incorporate those problems into my application portion each day.
Thank you,
Leslie Maddox
Leslie,
You do have a challenge in your Basic College Math class because as you well know this is not a favorite class of students. So many of them come with a fear of math so they aren't excited about being in the class. You are on the right track with your securing of applications made of math in the welding field. To expand on this if possible could you get case studies or problems that would require math to solve in relation to welding? Maybe they are being asked to fabricate something requiring angles so they have to work through the math before they can complete the project. When I taught such a course I had the students list for me the different ways math was involved in the welding industry. Their lists had things like simple fractions in terms of measuring lengths of metal to complex math to fabricate.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In Adult Basic Education classes, I give a learning styles inventory the first day. I incorporate the responses into a math lesson for them using fractions, decimals, and percentages. We also discuss the various kinds of learning styles and what they, as students, can do to help themselves use their learning styles more effectively. It also helps me a great deal to know how each student learns the best.
I've been in Adult Basic Education for about 10 years and in Business Education, where my B.S. lies, prior to that and have found that if I can apply what we're doing in the classroom to real-life situations, it ALWAYS increases learning. I'm currently doing Adult Basic Education 1/2 day and Basic College Math the other 1/2 day. The problem I'm having in Basic College Math is that I'm teaching to students who are entering the field of Welding Inspection, and I don't know much about that field. So I've gone to the teacher of that program and gotten some things from him, but it's not nearly enough. I'm constantly getting the question: Why do I need to know this? Sometimes I don't have a great explanation other than "You have to understand basic math to understand the more difficult math concepts and to succeed in the inspection program here." Any ideas about how I can improve my field knowledge?
FRANCES J,
There are numerous simple and quick assessments that are listed on the internet. Also, I observe my students while they are answering a general survey form that I give when I start a new course. You can quickly see those that are auditory, visual, and tactile learners by their body language, and responses on the form. I also ask them on the form how they feel they learn best and by the time they are in college students have an understanding of how they prefer to receive information.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
