Paul,
Getting input from colleagues and feedback from students are two ways to refine your instructional delivery. You are doing both with your strategies. I know your professional growth is a result of your effort to internalize all of the information you can in relation to being an effective instructor.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Nazanin,
This is a great strategy to receive and internalize feedback from students. This is what professional growth is about. By considering the input you receive you are expanding your expertise and refining your instructional delivery. Keep up your efforts in these areas because I know your students are growing and learning as a result of your professionalism.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Melissa,
This is what refinement is all about. Keep up this effort as you continue to expand your expertise as an effective and efficient instructor.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sandra,
You have a great professional development plan in place. I commend you for your effort and wish you much success as you continue to refine your instruction style and expand your teaching effectiveness.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Bravo Gilberto. Because our field is ever changing we owe it to ourselves and the student to keep abreast of the latest techniques. I especially appreciate the hands-on training seminars.
Stories. One of my most memorable college courses was Early Americal History. Because I worked evenings and this class was first on my morning schedule I fully intended on dropping it. I will never forget his style. This professor presented his lecture in story telling form but, would never deliver the punch line. His stories were so vivid in my mind that I spent my lunch hours reading the class material in order to determine the outcome. Consequently, I never missed even one of his classes. I have incorporated this technique for my students and have had great success and they meaningful results. I also attend as many medical related workshops and professional courses in my field of endeavor to glean from others their delivery ideas.
As an instructor, I often seek to utilize different strategies to improve my didactic and clinical instruction. This often includes continuing education in my field of expertise so that I can continue to stay current. I also like to elicit feedback from students via survey to identify strengths and weaknesses of the class and instruction.
Since my field is the Medical , I think that it is very important to combine the most updated textbooks, with appropriate Instructor's Manuals, with the today's thechnology used in the Health Care field, and focusing in those hand skills required by the majority of the potential employers.
The internet has helped explain different areas of the field that I am teach which makes it easy to expand and go deeper into the subject.
I agree that it is important to have different ways of instructing. I find that most of my classes divide into three groups, the fastest learning quarter to a third, the middle third to half and the slowest quarter to a third of the group. Each of these groups needs a different style from me.
The initial presentation is usually aimed at the middle group. Then as opportunities to address small groups of the faster students arise I can switch to a style based more on leading questions and less on presenting specific information and technics. Then I must make time to address the needs of the slowest group which often involves one to one teaching that fills in each individuals backgound or learning deficits.
I think of each of these approaches as different teaching styles.
I am always looking for new ideas, especially for ways to assist the slowest group. I find I can often get help for a specific student by asking other instructors how they teach the specific skill that student needs.
What techniques can you employ to further develop, refine and enhance your instructional style?
I have found that a good way to enhance my instructional style is to examine each class once it is complete to see if there is room for improvement. I happen to like receiving audits from the college on how I did as an instructor. I take the comments and use them to improve my future courses. I also read articles online about how to improve my teaching and I attend all faculty meetings. I learn from my fellow instructors and the administration. One thing I recently noted was that setting clear expectations was something some instructors were missing that was making their classes confusing and their students frustrated. What techniques have you seen that work to refine your instructional style?
i normally prepare ahead of time and kind of review my lectures and lesson for the class i am about to do.
i give copy handouts and objectives of the lecture for that day.
i also write the time of breaks
I have always felt that staying current with industry changes and designs helps being able to compile a course that not only displays a sense of where we started but how it has evolved. Saying that I am currently working in my field and attend as many MFG Training and trade shows I can.
I look back on all the different instructors that I had and try to incorporate all the positive qualities that they had. Also the questions that I had in the field, that very few people could explain, I have focused on explaing well. In addition the poor qualities, some instructors had in teaching I have made it a habbit to avoid.
I pass around a simple and unofficial questionnaire with only 2 questions: 1) what did you like MOST about the instructor, and 2) What did you like LEAST about the instructor :) They get extra credit if they provide examples with quotes and discussion topics and dates. It works like the camera or the mirror, without my personal input. It comes from the students and is extremely honest and helpful.
Talk to the students and see what their learning styles are.
I am constantly in contact with associates in the field to bring in current information to students that pertain to today’s work place.
I have been teaching for almost 4 years now and even though I've taught the courses over and over. I always look back at what worked for me and what didn't engage the students as much as I would like. I take out what didn't work and try to add something new, so that I am contiuously improving each course.
In a student –centered environment, the instructional style needs to be focused on the best ways the get them to learn. Your style needs to work for the students as well as for you.
I'm in my second year of teaching and I'm working on my instructional style all the time. First, I constantly fine tune based on student feedback, grades and ability to apply the learning after my lectures. Second, I lean on "peer reviews", confidential student feedback surveys, and supervisor feedback. And, finally, by seeking out professional development opportunities which include learning opportunities, peer-to-peer interactions and professional networking.
