Absolutely. In the culinary field, there is a new set of techniques known as "Molecular Gastronomy." Whether or not it is my cup of tea, I have to make myself familiar with the basics. Many students are interested in it and it may play a part in their future employment opportunities.
I like what you have to say bout the aha moments. When I share those moments with students sometimes they have one too-- or maybe they get one step closer to theirs.
Hi Jacob,
You are right in your assessment of what it takes to be a professional educator. You have to constantly be seeking ways of improvement while keeping current with your field.
Gary
Instructional professionalism is first being a life long learner. As a fculty member I am at my best when I remember my aha moments and creating those for students in a variety of ways because of different learning styles. This term also means that the instructor is on time, is prepared, provides timely feedback, supports and challenges students.
Critical thinking and encouraging lifelong learning can not be stressed enough.
Well put. I couldn't agree with you more.
As an instructor, you must go further than just the image you project to your class. You must be able to demonstrate your understanding of not only subject matter, but also of the learning environment you are in. Keeping your students and learning first really goes a long way.
Another key element is that you have be able to improvise. Each class is a unique learning environment, and what worked yesterday, might not work today. As an instructor, you have to be able to adapt quickly in order to accomplish the specific learning outcomes you are working with.
Instructional professionalism is the act of preparing for class as it regards teaching methods, technical knowlege and classroom management.
An easy answer would be to talk about the importance of competencies (professional, technical, personal, etc.). And I could talk about the importance of modeling behaviors important to the careers we train our students to achieve. And these answers would be adequate. I am struck by the need for educators to recognize their craft as a profession. The work we do has an enormous impact on others, and there are clear standards of excellence we must aspire to achieve. I would argue that instructional professionalism includes behavior focused on promoting high standards of teaching and learning (e.g. continuing education!).
Yeah, life can be pretty overpowering at times. And, as many of my students are about my age, have families, and are coming to school directly from working all day, it important to keep in mind that that same overpowering life may also be overpowering them.
But, just as I have to keep finding ways to make it work, so too do my students. It could be easy at this point to let them "slide a little," and maybe cut them a break, but we have to resist lowering the standards.
Better to maybe take them aside and share with them some of the techniques and strategies that we use to cope. There will always be obstacles and life, so finding a way to work through them without compromising may be one of the hardest tasks ahead of all of us.
Hi John,
What a great example of self assessment and personal as well as professional development. Your description of where you are professionally as a result of life issues and family challenges is a common one for many of us. The key is you recognize it and are working toward expanding your instructional expertise. By doing so you can meet the first point of your forum comment and that is the provision of customer/student service. The thing to do is to concentrate on one part of instructional development and once that is accomplished then move to another. It is like the saying "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time." Before long the elephant will be gone. I wish you much teaching success.
Gary
I grew up in small town and worked in my father's grocery store, so almost everything I do in life is a reflection upon that. In the small town, you know everybody, and everybody knows you, and everyone talks to everyone else. My Dad had a little note card stapled to the wall of our inventory/freight room: "It takes a lifetime to establish a customer, and only a second to lose one forever. To this, he would add, "People can buy groceries anywhere. What we sell is service."
So to me, instruction and all teaching likewise comes down to professionalism and quality customer service. Obviously, the image that you project and present to people is important. It is the first thing that is seen; it is the lasting first impression. That can be as simple as dressing well, smiling, and just honestly saying hello to people. But it can't be just a facade; it has to run deeper than that. After the initial impression, the student (the customer) will be constantly reevaluating you (and what you teach) based upon your conduct and your performance. This is the service part that we have to sell every time they come through our doors. And what customer is going to continue to shop at a store that isn't well-stocked, where the product isn't fresh, were their needs are ignored, or where they don't get their money's worth?
Not very many.
So, how do you create a good product or a great service? In the case of education, it has to begin with quality curriculum and a quality instructor. I'm not sure which is more important. A great curriculum could be taught fairly successfully by an okay instructor, and a great instructor can make so-so course materials really shine. But why settle for less than a great instructor AND a great course?
Admittedly, I have focused too much of late on building the material but have been ignoring building myself. Why? It's been difficult. I teach in the ever-changing Information Technology field, and I frequently have to teach courses without any notice, and where there is no prepared material or material that is greatly out of date. I refuse to let that happen to my customers.
As such, almost of my work and free time is spent just keeping those new or newly-revamped courses afloat. Likewise, my home situation has not been desirable, as I am needed also to be a health provider for my ailing mother, who requires much in the way of supervision, encouragement, and/or retraining since she has very little short term memory and degrading cognitive skills.
So, with the best of intentions, I have, year after year, attended in-services, attended what little I could of professional meetings, and done what I could do to research the needs of my industry and of my students. And while I have read books, studied online materials, built several courses from the ground up, and tinkered with new software and hardware, I have done almost nothing in a well-structured, planned, meaningful way. I have accomplished some great technical training, amassing a lot of technical knowledge, but I have almost no record having done it, no way to prove it, and I have left several of my yearly professional plans go unfulfilled.
I have to break the cycle, and I have to somehow make the time to develop myself for a change. I’ve decided that the first step was to take one of these CEE courses. I have to rush through this first one because I need to complete one quickly for my personnel file, but I will make time to take them more consistently and at a more leisurely rate in the future. And, along with that, I have started to develop a proper Professional Developmental Plan that is achievable and which serves me now and long into the future.
I have always driven myself to be a quality instructor, and I am constantly analyzing the learning process, hoping to improve it, and to meet (and exceed) the needs of my customers. But, the missing piece is "me-time." Combine everything that I have been doing along with a lot more personal development for myself, and I think I can define Instructional Professional for you.
Hi George,
Good idea to create your own professional development plan. This way you can see how you are progressing and concentrate on areas in which you want to develop expertise.
Gary
Instructional professionalism encompasses all facets of an instructors interaction with students. It begins with an
a. assessment of the course objectives,
b. continues to a lesson plan that meets those objectives,
c. forwards to the classroom with a motivated instructor with an outstanding appearance who assesses his students needs,
d. continues in the classroom as the instructor adjusts the lesson plan to meet the objectives based on his student assessment and continues to motivate
e. assesses learning in a well prepared student evaluation
f. leads to student feedback, remotivation and self assessment for the instructor
g. culminates in changes to teaching methods.
g. culiminates
Instructional professionalism is just that, being a professional in all aspects of what you are instructing. Being prepared for the situations that may arise in your classroom setting, with students, changes in industry requirements that affect your course, and a multitude of other internal and external influences.
I feel the key factor to having instructional professionalism is to create your professional development plan, which will help you continually improve all aspects of your technical, instructional, and personal characteristics.
Hi Ronald,
Great professional development plan for both yourself and your faculty. I know that I try to add something new or different each time I teach a course and that helps me to stay focused and have fun with the course. I am always curious to see how my new activity or project works. Keep up the good work.
Gary
To me instructional professionalism is anchored by personal integrity and a commitment to continuous improvement not only in course content but also in learning news ways to conduct classes. I have worked for a number of years as a classroom instructor and department chair and I learn something new every class I teach. Instructional professionalism is evolutionary in nature and must be constantly nurtured. I strive to try something new for every class I teach. I also spend time every term doing classroom evaluations for my instructors. These observations give me insight into ways to improve my own teaching. I have found that flexibility and responsiveness to the needs of different learners has served me well and added to my instructional professionalism.
Its important to deliver the content of the course effectively. That means one has to be able to communicate complex material in a direct and organized way. More than that, though, its important for the instructor to act as a good role model. That means behavng appropriately, to be on time, to dress well, and so on. Students need to know that the instructor not only knows the material, but that the instructor will always support their learning.
I think I define it as Having the knowledge, being prepared, and being motivated to teach both in and out of the classroom. Youu have to know your subject and you have to continue to work to learn new aspects of your subject in order to be professional. You have to prepare yourself for each and every class so that you make a professinal impression on your students. You must be motivated about wht you are doing so that you can motivate your students in a professional manner.
To me it means you not only have to know your material and be comfortable presenting it, but also role model the behavior expected from students in class and in the field. Dressing appropriately, being prepared, and being on time are just as important as the material itself.
