new to teaching
There seem to be so many things to remember as an instructor. The most important thing for myself is to know the students are learning the content and that they can apply what they have learned in their field.
I am learning that this is a must if you want to prove your professionalism to your students.
I have the same concern, Kirk. I'm equal parts excited to be teaching my first class and worried I might not do everything perfect on my first attempt. Thankfully, one of the lines in the course content gave me some comfort already. It was the area that said (paraphrasing here) "You will make mistakes, acknowledge them, learn from them and then move on."
Emily,
This is a common challenge for instructors. At times when I complete a course I feel that I have not given my students all that they needed to have in terms of content and skill development. On the other hand if we instructors do our planning and are effective in our instructional delivery we will have moved our students toward their career goals and that is more than they had when they entered our courses. Would always like to have them for just a little longer to give them a little more and that is a good thing from our perspective because it shows we care about them and their success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with what you are saying completely. But I find it hard to make sure the students are getting all the information that I feel is necessary. This is because there is just so much that as a technical professional that you learn by doing, not from a book, and I want to share all of it with them. There just is not enough time to do so and cover all the required information as well.
Michael,
Good way to approach your classroom or lab. Yes we have all been there so by keeping this in mind and using a common sense approach to the classroom success is going to be achieved with students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I too am new to teaching, and yes, it does appear there is alot to learn. All I do is keep in mind that like everything else that we just start in life, if we give it time, we will eventually gain the experience we need to become effective instructors.
Kirk,
Yes there are a lot of things to remember and tasks to complete. This is why it is a good idea to keep a list of things to do and/or follow ups that need to be completed. This way you can reduce the times that you walk into a class room and a students asks if you remembered to do something that had been discussed previously. By being organized you can do the follow up and when the student asks respond with the needed information. This will enhance your status as the learning leader for the class and earn the respect of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
