Our students will be dealing directly with the public and it is important that they are able to communicate well on a variety of topics. I encourage the students to read journals, watch the news and read the newspaper. I bring in one relevent current event every day to share with the class. Some days we spend several minutes discussing the topic other days we just move on.
One way is to give them real world experience so they can get a better understanding of what is expected of them to perform in the real world
As an instructor, it is our job to insure that we demonstrate the behavior, appearance, and attitude that is necessary our field. This includes, but is not limited to, using only professional language, appropriate attire, etc.
One thing that I have found helpful is showing both sides of the story. While I may not use profane language, I will have students in a "mock interview" or in a "scene" where such unprofessional behavior or appearance may come up. This has the students that are both participating in and observing the scene interact with the "players" in order to point out what is wrong, how it can be fixed, and the possible negative outcomes of the situation.
Thoughts?
I recently learned how much student's appreciate prompt feedback so I will work on better time management to be able to provide this.
As a professor of college students for the last 20 years, I have grown to be a professional in the classroom environment. There are many behaviors that I model in which I feel will help my students to succeed in their respective disciplines.
Arriving to class 1/2 hour before the start of class gives me time enough to get settled. I begin by writing on the board topics that will be discussed. Upon entering the classroom, the students are greeted and are made aware of what material will be covered in class for the session. Handouts for the lecture are always placed in the rear of the room. Students know to pick them up as they enter the room. This saves time for me as I do not have to stop during a lecture to pass out numerous handouts. This is especially helpful if a student arrives late to class. Students have always commented that I am one of the most organized teachers. I model this quality so that they realize how important orgaizational skills are for work.
Another way instructors may be role models is by their appearance. The minute students meet a new teacher for the first time, they have already formed a judgement about you. It is important that teachers take into consideration the way they dress, speak, and conduct themselves. I dress professionally each day. I feel as an instructor, you must dress the part. Students need to know that they, too, must dress appropriately in their respective fields. Our Medical Assistant students are required to wear their scrubs. If students are not dressed appropriatey, they cannot sit in class and sometimes are sent home.
On the first day of classes, I use a great ice-breaker activity that allows students to share a little about who they are and why they have chosen to be a student at our campus. I briefly share a little about my background expertise as well as share with them that teaching has always been my passion. Students need to be aware that you love what you do and that you are committed to helping them succeed. I am very committed to my students. I am available for them during resource hours for extra help as well as office hours if they just want to stop by and chat. I can always be reached via email. I try to get to know everything about my students. By knowing who my students are as well as where they are coming from helps me to better understand them and builds a mutual trusting relationship. This fosters learning because you have now created an environment in which students feel safe enough to take risks and share in the learning process.
It is so important that teachers model good hygiene, neatness, organization, compassion, credibility, and most of all professionalism. Students who do not develop these skills may, indeed, have difficulty later in life when they begin to work in their respective fields of study.
Presenting yourself in a professional manner from your dress to how you speak and deliver you words to your audience. The students will follow your lead. If you are a good instructor they will relect as good students and if you are a poor instructor they will reflect poorly.
As a Massage Therapy Instructor, I am in a field that is heavily dominated by women. In the classroom, there are on average 70% female and 30% male students.
I have found that my very presence in the classroom has made me a role model for the men in the class. That is not to exclude the women. However, I have also found that the female students tend to have a better support system than the men, many of whom have had no positive male role models in their lives until they step into our classrooms.
Understanding this role makes everything so important because everything is under scrutiny: the way I dress, the way I conduct myself, the way I interact with female and male students, my response to challenging situations. As instructors, we seem to be increasingly adopted as fathers, counsellors, mentors, peacemakers because many of the students that cross the classroom threshold have had so little positive influence in their lives. In fact, for many, school is the ONLY positive thing they have going for them.
So, all that to say that I am acutely aware that my students, the men in particular, really look at me and the way I conduct myself, as a model for them to aspire to and I always endeavour to maintain extremely high standards so that they understand that goodness, indeed greatness, is indeed possible, no matter what your path has been.
I am a beginning instructor teaching non-clinical classes in the healthcare field. I teach administrative skills to Medical Assistants, and I also teach billing and coding skills to Medical Billers and Coders.
I do not have academic traing in teaching, per se, but I am a subject matter expert in some of the fields that I teach. I also have enough background in the healthcare field to be deemed qualified to teach my other courses. My responses are based on this experience. I have been teaching for 13 months.
1) Behave professionally in the classroom -- dress, speech, general etiquette as far as student relationships and with fellow-teachers, and specific comments to the class, or an individual studnet, in particular, if correction needs to be addressed. Many times I have seen that when students behave inappropriately, it is due to lack of information about what is appropriate, not necessarily a flagrant disregard for the expected rules of behavior. I have learned to relate specific comments such as these to what the students will expect in the job environment. As long as I keep information relevant to their experience, or future experience, I (as a teacher) keep the students' attention and focus.
2) I closely work with a senior level instructor and have sought and received many good pieces of advice that I use.
3) I also work very closely with my department chair, also a senior instructor at my school, who advises me after classroom observation. She gives me very specific feedback about "what works" and "what doesn't work" in my classroom. I have had a long relationship with her, and I know that her comments are not personal, but constructive about my ability to be successful at my job. I am able to include both her comments and the senior teacher's comments readily into my preparations for the next class.
Besides dressing professionally I try to model those behaviors expected in the work place. I apologize if I have to leave the room. I DO NOT text or use the phone during class. I also talk alot about punctuality so I start on time and end on time and expect the same from them.
Instructors as role models is a key component to students learning.
I model having a positive attitude,a willingness to help others and the use of courtesy phases in the classroom.
If students model a postive attitude it will help them in the field and in life.
I learned from this chapter to never tell them when we don't like a certain lesson,topic or book.
Hi Aimee,
Right you are about needing to bring the human side into the classroom and you being you while doing it. This is the key ingredient in being a professional role model plus it helps to establish rapport with the students.
Gary
This is true. And there is another component as well. Showing students our human side is every bit as important as modeling "professional" behavior. I have found that people respond best to folks who are genuine. Being professional doesn't have to involve a facade. My favorite mentor was a real person who did not pretend to be something she was not. I learned more from her than from those who placed themselves on an unrealistic pedestal. Being my genuine self has worked well for me in my career for the past 25 years.
Hi Angelica,
Right you are. We can never forget that we are being looked upon as being models of our field. The students will reflect the model we put before them so we need to make sure we are showing our students the very best professional that a person can be in this field.
Gary
You should model a professional attitude in your classroom everyday. You should also arrive to class on time prepared and organized for an entire day. That shows your students that you care about the role that you play in their education.
It is very important that instructors are good role models for the students. Very useful information to be shared with the instructors
Paula, I taught in a public high school for many years before moving into the college setting. I can tell you that tardiness and absences were two of the most challenging areas of classroom management. Some students never see the connection between success and attendance. However, one day I brought in a guest speaker from the human relations dept. of a prominent industrial company in our area. He spoke about many areas the company looks at before employing people. Many students were shocked when he told them that the company looked at disciplinary action when an employee misses more than five days in a year of work. After that students seemed more responsive to discussions relating to attendance.
As an instructor Iam always on time for class.I
show example of having good work ethics. To act
professional in the work place. I have an open door policy.
Hi Gitthaline,
This is a tough situation to handle if you are a fellow faculty member. The Dean of Instruction needs to be made aware of the situation and then meet with such faculty. The inconsistency is the hard part because it causes all kinds of problems with students since they don't know who they should listen to.
Gary
We have some instructors at our facility that don't seem to take professionalism seriously. They don't participate in professional organizations or act very professionaly, such as using bad language, and tell the students that those things don't matter. I have had students and professionals in the field ask me about this apathy and I was wondering how to handle the situation.
