I also learned that I sometimes I go through the material a little fast, its easy to do when there are no questions being asked. I do my best to reiterate all the material that we just went through.
If there is still a lot of time that I have to fill I find out from either other instructors or the lab assistants to what they have done in the past.
Also, I have found that doing the clinical lab/test more than once or twice do in fact make the students feel more confident and even sometimes more motivated and interested, because now they understand it. The first time they understood it but were unable to enjoy the tests because of learning them.
Enroll at the community college or university and take classes in educational methodologies. Continuing education courses can help you expand your knowledge base and by observing other instructors that you admire and value, you can incorporate different teaching styles and tricks of the trade into your own repertoire.
Well, this is my biggest challenge right now. Was a back office M.A. for 25+ yrs, so I have the technical knowledge and people skills to teach. This is my 4th term of teaching (part-time)and loving it. Use Powerpoint for my lectures adding to them with personal anecdotes. Getting very good student surveys. I know there is a lot of good 'technology' available to me, and interesting things on the Web, but just not technically advanced or interested enough to find them and learn them. Would love some good easy Web sites that we could play in class. (Like Sporcle.com)
Hi Henry,
Good professional development plan. I know you are going to enjoy the new knowledge you will gain while interacting with other professionals in your field. This will help you to bring excitement back to your classroom.
Gary
I think the best way to expand our instructional abilities is by keeping ourselves up to date in the field we teach for. I teach medical billing and I am constanly checking for any changes and interacting with past resources in what is going on in the field. I have not taken any training courses, but I am now and plan to go to seminars, workshops and more. This will allow me to bring more knowledge to offer into the class, and I feel that the students would appreciate that more.
I've always thought that the best way to expand my instructional abilities is to observe other teachers in the same field. Teaching is a profession of borrowing successful elements from other teachers. I have often learned how to teach a concept in a different way, how to manage the classroom or how to organize differently by just watching others do it.
I agree that you have to step outside your comfort zone to ensure that your students are getting the tools they need. For example I had a really difficult student to deal with that gave me a really hard time, this course gave me the knowledge and tools to handle difficult students and to keep the class on track.
Think outside the box. Often there is not a right or wrong answer. Not everything is black or white. The creative thinking will always expand your knowledge base and enhance skills. Go for it. Sometimes while this idea was a good one, another might be a better one.
Hi Rachelle,
These types of publications are good to make available to the students. They get to see how the real world is operating in their field through these publications in addition to reading about what is current.
Gary
Bringing in publications from the various professional organizations of their career field is another way to peek student interest and excite them about the field they will soon be entering.
Attending professional workshops allows me to remain current in my field and gives me the opportunity to share with my students the trends they will soon be working with when they graduate. This helps me to keep them and myself motivated and excited about the learning process.
Hi Dawn,
Keep the growing process going. You are developing your skills and expertise in the area of instructional delivery. This will enhance student learning while helping you to have greater teaching success. This creates a win win situation for everyone. I wish you much success in your teaching efforts.
Gary
Hi Edward,
Lots of good advice contained in your comments. Instructors need to think along the lines you have outlined and when they do they will enjoy teaching, be successful and have an impact on their students.
Gary
Lately stepping out of my comfort zone is exactly what I have been doing, more writing on the board, not so much dry lecture, more interactive assigments that involve the students coming to the board also, making a powerpoint come "alive" by providing examples, video clips, etc... Seems to engage the students much better and longer than the usual lecture/notes method!
By, Edward Mojena
Learn as much as you can about the program your teaching before so you can sound as if you were an expert on the material when your teaching. Take educated risks in teaching, getout of the confort zone dare to be different show conpassion to the students and the way you teach to the students.
The most difficult part of teaching i think is when we a challenged to step outside of our comfort zone. I have found recently that doing that however really improved my instructional abilities. whether it is in an new area or new method of delivery. i recently used a aprojector for the first time and i was astonished at how much easir it was to teach a computer class. It saved time,cut down on me running all over the room and made instruction clearer.
To expand my instructional abilities, I am constantly on the "look out" for new and exciting ways of presenting, modeling, practicing, and assessing information. I am an adjunct professor, but I also sub-teach for a local school district. I am lucky in this regard because I am always getting new ideas from the many educators I encounter in my daily life. For someone without the opportunity to meet many other educators, I would advise sitting in on other professors' classes. It is amazing the amount of "tricks" other teachers have in their bags!
Jennifer Vest
I can expand my instructional abilities by always being open to learning new ideas and concepts from my students, other instructors and formal laearning format like this. Being aware that someone else may have a new and interesting method of instructing has always worked well for me. I have often been surprised by information i can learn from the students themselves; whether it is new info from the field or on the news and soemtimed they can tell you the way they can learn best.
Always challenge yourself and challenge those around you.
Some ways I can expand my instructional abilites would involve research, inquiry, and practice. I believe by observing colleges in there class setting you can learn from the approaches they employ. I could also not be afraid to ask questions and ask other instructors, colleges, business professions in and field and students on feedback on instructional teaching methods I have prepared. Another way i could expand my instructional abilities would be by preparing various approcces to communicate the classes concept so that I could better assist the student with various learning styles.
