That is one of the reasons why I enjoy teaching adults over high school students... I only have so much time in the classroom and I cannot cover ever single item in the text book. In a high school setting, we have to 'spoon feed them' a bit more than in an adult setting.
In an adult classroom, I expect them to read the chapter we are covering outside of class. I just enhance the material by covering important and/or difficult topics more in depth.
I tell them up front that I cannot possibly cover every single point in the chapter while we are in class. I might as well read the chapter to them and that would be a waste. They are expected to take part in their education and read the materials outside of class. That way, I can focus on the more important or difficult concepts.
I always have some kind of hands on activity/classwork/groupwork each class period. The students have got to 'get their hands dirty and DO the work' in order to really learn it.
One way to expand is by networking with other colleagues. By learning from their mistakes as well as what worked (like these forums), I can expand my resources to improve wholistically as an instructor.
Apart from networking, attending various CEC classes, I find self evaluations to be rather helpful as well. Reviewing both my style as well as student response can and does help me to mold myself into a better instructor.
The best strategies are observing and implementing the effective teaching methods by your peers. If you are engaged or bored with a particular approach, chances are likely that your students will feel the same in your classroom.
The best strategies are observing and implementing the effective teaching methods by your peers. If you are engaged or bored with a particular approach, chances are likely that you're students will feel the same in your classroom.
I find it helpfull to attend conferences and network w/ my peers. Taking ideas from those synergy centers can be very beneificial to my classrooms.
There are conferences for the technicians in our professions to go to. They are a whole lot of fun. Not only do you get lectures from professionals across the country, but there are labs you can sign up to take too. I am a member of some associations that send out information on the new advances in our field. These are interesting articles and they help keep me informed of the latest technology available to my students.
Hi Michael, I also end sessions that way and find this to be essential in my role as a teacher. The interesting part of this process is empowering the students to offer feedback. Many times when I first ask this, they are unsure of how to respond because they have not been asked that before.
I agree. Even I as the instructor sometimes need a break. I try to use some lecture, a lot of questions and a practical activity for every lesson. This keep all of us awake and on our toes.
Design your own commercial so that it compliments your lesson. The commercial can be used to promote a specific point in the lesson.
An instructor can expand instructional abilities by carefully reading and understanding course material. If the instructor does not fully understand material, how can he or she teach the material?
I believe that more concretely refining learning objectives for course assignments and activities so they are more transparently stated for students prior to engaging in such.
Hi Cindy,
Thank you for these great comments about how to transfer your skills from on-site to online. Good teaching is good teaching no matter the setting. You have the global approach to see how you can be effective by adapting what you have used in way that makes your instruction effective in this new setting. This is the sign of a instructional delivery expert. Keep up the good work.
Gary
After teaching on campus for quite awile, I began teaching online classes and am interested in the differences and similarities between the two formats. Out of necessity I have had to expand my instructional abilities in order to best provide students with the same level of experience online as in a 'regular' class. I have needed to become very experienced at using all the relevant software, both for myself and because I will need the ability to explain it to students without being there to point things out. I have learned to create PowerPoint presentations that are engaging and informative despite them not being a 'live performance'. I have had to learn to be both concise and specific in my course organization, assignments, and instructions, as they are the only way students understand what to do. And I have had to practice effective email communication, as this is the only way I communicate directly with students. I find that the interesting thing about all this, though, is that paying so much attention to these aspects of teaching a course without ever seeing my students it that I am a much better teacher in person as well. I've found that giving that much thought to the underlying structure of a course provides a platform for classroom lessons that allows both thoroughness and flexibility.
Instructional abilities can be expanded by learning how to be more of a listener when it comes to working with the students. Often times, instructors are used to doing most of the talking without getting much input from the students. I would like to work more on being able to listen to the concerns of my students regarding the course content and learn from what they may be experiencing. It's always different when seen through the eyes of a student. Being able to listen to students and understand their process of learning new information can assist in expanding my instructions abilities.
Hi Lubna,
Good point. The more you know the more comfortable you can be in sharing the information. Keep current and continue to learn and you will grow as an effective and efficient instructor.
Gary
In my opinion to expand your instructional abilities, the instructor needs to do an in depth research on the topic which he/she will be discussing in the class. This prepares him/her for questions which may not have been answered in the book or which may not be directly related to the topic.
I also agree that it helps to get feedback from more experienced instructors. Perhaps an experienced instructor could observe part of your class period or part of a lecture and then give you some insight and feedback into how you were doing. An observer is often times able to notice if students are engaged in the learning process.
Hi Jeb,
This is a very important point because much of what we do in our various careers is to problem solve. We need to be able to gather all of the facts so we can make wise decisions when needed. Questioning is one of the ways to get those facts and build a base from which to operate both as an instructor and as students.
Gary
Hi Dalene,
Great way to grow as a professional educator. You are fortunate to have so many resources available to you. Keep looking for ways to grow and expand as an educator and teaching will continue to rewarding to you.
Gary
Read Carefully: I had an instructor in undergraduate studies that taught us to be skeptical about all things - and just because it is written does not make it so. Even textbooks are fallible, so it is important to understand what the authors are saying, and also important to be ready for students to question the facts in some cases.
