Robert,
What a great opportunity for you to expand your professional expertise as well as increase your effectiveness as an instructor. This is a win win for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
LaShonda,
Good way to customize your instructional delivery so that you are targeting the learning preferences of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
DAVID E,
No you are not wrong you should feel good that your students realize that you are working hard to provide them with quality instruction. This is a compliment to you and your professionalism.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
DAVID E,
I am a big fan of using real work situations to help students understand what they will be facing once they are out working. I use a lot of case studies and stories from my own work experience. As we both know students really perk up when they can see the relevancy and application of what is being discussed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
DAVID E,
Wow, what a lead you have with that many subjects in that short of time. You are right about needing to adapt and adjust your teaching style throughout this time period. This is how you will be more effective and keep your students engaged.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
DAVID E,
Passion for one's field and enthusiasm about teaching is a winning combination for teaching success. I wish you continued success as you impact the lives of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
My institution is consistently encouraging our instructors to develop professionally. They provide the necessity tools and resources to do my job to my best ability. The use of this type of online sources helps to become even a better instructor.
I focus on how each individual student comprehends and once their learning style has been determined I begin to impliment different styles in my lectures.
I have been an instructor for several years and I used different methods based on the class. However, I continue to learn with each class that I teach.
I find that by observing other classes and seeing what methods the instructors are using. I will often adapt these methods to provide my students a better education.
I also will talk to other instructors and find out how they teach a class, what kinds of quizzes they employ, and what methods they use to get difficult points across. Each student learns differently, so I like to make sure students get different methods.
One of the best ways is to listen to your students. I can go through some materials quickly because students understand the material. But other material needs more in-depth explanations, which require me to slow down and provide several examples.
At our school we also have a teacher evaluation. It is online and students are asked for their opinions of the instructors. I am very fortunate not to have had any negative comments. This makes me feel as though I am doing a great job!! Am I wrong to think and feel this way?
I too have a passion for this field. I have to say that because I have always enjoyed watching a students' mind open and learn the subject matter. The enthusiasm I see in their character when they leave my course is simply immeasurable. Seeing this increases my enthusiasm as well. I have always enjoyed teaching someone something!!
I too discuss with my students "real" work situations as many of my students are ex-military or retired. Some have never known any civilian work environments. This is somewhat of a cultural shock to them so we discuss my work experiences and theirs and combine our comments so that they have a better understanding of how things work. Then we apply whatever the instructional material is at that moment to our discussion.
Trial and error and adaptability is definitely crucial to developing an instructional style. Although no one has ever told me that, I've found that this is way to develop and improve your style. I teach 29 subjects in a 36 week period and I have to constantly be evolving and adjusting my style. I have students leaving and entering the course and I've learned to adapt quickly for the sake of the students' education. Adjusting your style and technique is so crucial!!
I feel that my career college has made this kind of online classes available is most beneficial. I feel as though there is finally somewhere online that I can go to and enrich my education even more. I hope to continue taking these courses.
I most certainly have had to adjust my instructional style to accommodate the different skill levels of my students. Some are more advanced than others! I've used a one room school kind of approach to instruct the students. I use the more advanced students to assist me with the task at hand which has been very useful. I also allow time for the slower learners to "catch up" and feel and think that they have accomplished something they thought they could never do by having constant encouragement from me and their fellow students.
Tracey,
Once you come up with a few of them you will start to see how other stories from your experience can used and before you know it you will have a set of stories for each concept you teach.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
After going through this online training, I am now brainstorming on past stories that I can correlate to the everyday theory to use as examples to make class more interesting.
David,
This is a good strategy to follow in professional development. The more instructional methods you are aware of the more teaching tools you have at your disposal.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
About once a month I sit in on other instructors to observe. Participating in this type of instruction, allows me to see teaching from a differant perspective. I have learned another side of people in the last few months, and have begun using some of these techniques as they relate to the individual in class. This has led to better class control and an uptrend in overall scores.
Donald,
So glad to hear this from an instructor that is so new in his teaching career. I wish you continued teaching success and many rewards from helping to shape the lives of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
