Agreed! Humor has been extremely helpful for me in my teaching as my field is quite technical as well. Real world examples have also been extremely helpful (especially when combined with humor). A story I tell every semester is how my boss made me cut off the first floor pocket I ever soldered, not because it was not functional, but because it was of unacceptable quality (generally a very dramatic and humorous retelling). This helps alleviate feelings of frustration when I ask a student to redo a lab because I expect a higher quality out of them. I have been there and made those mistakes and am not afraid to tell those stories. If I am able to laugh at myself and my mistakes, it allows the students to learn from their mistakes in a more light hearted manner and not get down on themselves. The reason I know how to fix these mistakes is because I have made them many times myself, and I make sure the students know that.
Now let me tell you why discharging power supply capacitors is extremely important...
Being a new instructor I am at the beginning stages of developing my instructional style. So I am exploring my areas of comfort. At this point my area of comfort in a style is to share my experience in the subject matter out in the field when appropriate.
Gordon,
Good plan and one that will help you to refine your instructional abilities. Keep looking for ways to improve and listen to your student feedback and you will develop into the instructor that you want to be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Being I'm new to being an instructor I can only look back at my past instructors and incorporate what I feel was the best method that assisted me in my contextual learning.
Also make sure I'm being reflective of the mission and philosphy of Concorde Career College.
Make sure I know the subject I'm teaching and talk to my peers and get their input.
Donna,
A change of instructional style generally incorporates a change in instructional delivery. For example if your style is to deliver your content via a 2 hour lecture then a change of style might be to take the content from the lecture and reformat it to mini-lectures of 15-20 minutes and then have a small group activity, role play, case study or Q&A session. Then do another mini-lecture and a different activity. This way you are appealing to the different learning preferences of your students while using different instructional venues to deliver the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Thanks for your comments. It's encouraging to know that we will all have to learn through trial and error, and that when something does not work well, that's an opportunity for us to learn and grow. As a brand-new teacher, however, I would love to hear some specific examples of what you mean by a change in style. I can easily imagine changing techniques, but it seems like "style" is to a large extent linked to one's particular personality. I'm not quite sure what such a change would look like. Anyone care to give specific examples?
Thanks for your comments. It's encouraging to know that we will all have to learn through trial and error, that when something doesn't work well, that's an opportunity for us to learn and grow. As a brand-new teacher, however, I would love to hear some specific examples of changing a teaching "style." It seems like style is to a large extent linked to your particular personality; I can imagine changing techniques, but I'm not quite sure what a change of "style" would look like. Anyone care to give specific examples?
Very Good point and I truly agree on keep the students focus.
Karen,
This is a great way to get feedback and help you to expand your instructional delivery skills. The more information you have the better you can select the best practices to follow.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
For me I find that asking my colleages how I am perceived by them. Do I seem nervous? Confident? Friendly? Approachable? Scattered? Sometimes we have a differing opinion of ourselves. I also like to think of the teachers or instructors that most influenced me and what made them excellent educators. I have asked other instructors what "motivators" do they use in the classroom?
Jacqueline,
Ways to increase your knowledge as an educator should be a part of your professional development plan. You have such a plan as evidenced by your comments and I know you and your students are going to benefit from your expanded expertise.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I enjoy attending seminars and training events. I also like searching on the internet and taking assessments to reveal things about myself that could help me to become a better instructor.
Jeff,
Try just a few uses of media and other delivery modes until you get comfortable with how they fit into your instructional style. Then as your comfort level increases you can expand the use of them so you will be introducing content through a number of different methods and will keep your students engaged throughout the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find my greatest challenge in using a multi media approach. I am not comfortable yet with 'wasting' the lecture time with breakout sessions/videos/movies/etc. The challenge has been in how to construct these different presentation so that the students remain 'on track' with the content
Simply listen to the students to better understand what instructional style to use.
Tammy,
You have a good strategy that you are following. The students need to be able to see how the course content reflects on and connects to their career development. When they are able to do and see this their motivation levels increase significantly.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
As an instructor and as a corporate trainer, I try to relate how their work may be reflected in their school work. I am a corporate individual with a need for time management, prioritizing, deadlines, etc.
Amy,
Yes, instructors have to connect the dots for their students as many of them fail to see the value of the content that is being taught.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Relate topics you teach to various jobs/careers your students are trying to achieve.
Lauren,
I agree and still do this when I am introducing a new activity or concept. I respect them and their expertise so I value their input. The result is better instruction on my part and more effective learning on the part of my students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
