Expanding Your Instructional Abilities
What are some ways you can expand your instructional abilities?
Chad,
It is a must for instructors to stay current in their field. If they don't then they are doing a disservice to their students to their students and their profession.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I think it is very important to stay current with todays technology. Letting students understand that things will be changing in their careers and staying current is important. It adds accessibility to other learning ideas and may touch students who don't respond to classical classroom instruction.
Mary,
Being effective at preparation is a challenge that most of us in education face. I can appreciate your comment about having made preparation of something and not using. Make sure you hang onto this material or activity so you will be able to build a resource of these and then pull them out and use them after you have taught your classes a few time. This will shorten your prep time and keep the course alive and fresh each time you teach it.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I feel I can expand in the area of preparation of course materials. Detailed preparation helps to review the objectives of the lesson and provides clarity for my lecture. My biggest challenge is finding the time to properly prepare and sometimes I prepare for something I did not end up using.
Andrea,
You have put together a number of very good professional development opportunities for your career growth. I wish you much success as you expand your knowledge and expertise.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
There are lots of options for expanding instructional abilities; you can reflect on your strengths and weaknesses by taking notes after each class to see what worked and what went wrong. Consulting with other professionals for advice and tips has always been very beneficial for me; they turn me on to resources and ideas I never would have considered otherwise, and I always leave these interactions feeling extremely motivated. I also have a professional membership which puts out a monthly magazine that I look forward to reading for ideas and to see what is new in the field. I don't have the budget (personally, or through my school) yet for attendancing professional conferences, but I hope to someday, since I feel this would be a great opportunity to grow as an instructor.
Santos,
All good ways to expand your knowledge and expertise. The more professional development like this that you undertake the more impact you will have in the lives of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Santos,
Great list of ways to expand your knowledge base and expertise as an educator and leader in your field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I would like to to more Continuing ed on line. try to keep up with technology and new trends in culinary arts.Get more involve in culinary competition to learn new ideas and technique from other chefs
try to keep up with technology/ keep up with modern culinary trends/ go to culinary competition and different ideas from other chefs around the country
Katherine,
Yes, you are! Keep up the good work and congratulations, a bit early on your PhD.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the ways I'm currently expanding my instructional abilities is working on my PhD in Nursing Education. I'm half way through my dissertation!!!
Todd,
You make a good point about the need to balance the examples given and stories shared between the instructor and the students. This way student input is increased and the students start to respect each other more as a result of hearing about the life experiences that others have had in relation to the course content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that students oftentimes have great stories and experiences that are related to the class content. Getting them to share how the class content relates to their personal experiences is important to student understanding of class material. Sometimes the students are more receptive to hearing stories coming from fellow students than they are to hear stories from the instructor. It is important to get the student's to be enaged in class by asking for their imput and stories
James,
These are good steps to take as one moves forward with one's professional development so keep up the good effort.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Continue to take instructor development training courses. Talk to other instructors about styles of teacheing that have worked for them and there students.
Robert,
I think either of these suggestions would be good for instructors that are striving to increase their confidence and communication skills in front of a class. With just a few suggestions and some presentations the growth in terms of self confidence will be great for such instructors and before they know it they will be at ease sharing their knowledge with their students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Dr. Meers,
For the new teacher who has problems with being in front of the class and lecturing, is it possible that rather than quit, he or she might enhance that skill by taking an "Acting Class" or join "Toast Masters" for a period of time?
Michele West-Lax
Forum 1 Respons
Being a new instructor, various ways I can improve and expand my instructional abilities is to conduct research and review of my topic, with emphasis on current peer-reviewed scientific theories and studies. I can then utilize such information within my instruction to aid each student to remain current within their field of study. In addition, these resources can be easily accessible and available for students to review and read during their leisure. I can also use these resources in an applicable way, where their knowledge and skills can be applied to their work field.
