Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance
Proper planning will prevent poor performance in the classroom. Organization is also a very important strategy in being a successful Instructor, if you are not organized your students will pick up on that immediately and will make for a long day. Planning and organization are 2 vital parts of an Instructor's daily routine.
I Agee with you Keith,when you not organized the student pickup on it very quickly and it makes for a bad day. And at the end of the day there grades will be affected.
Stanley,
Thank you for sharing your developmental experiences with us. You are right about the learning a second profession part. Technical knowledge and skill has to be communicated as an educator and knowing how to do that can be a challenge as you mention. This is why it is good to have an ongoing professional development plan in place so you can grow in your skills as an educator while gaining experience in the classroom and/or lab.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The most difficult part of becoming an instructor in my profession is that no one explained to me I would be learning a second profession - teaching.
I have learned it is not enough to show someone what you know. You must learn to teach and a big part of that for me was organizing myself like a teacher. It doesn't work to organize your self like you need to in the profession you are teaching.
Hard lessons but finally learned.
When I first became a teacher 2 years ago, I did not create my own, unique lesson plans for my classes. I followed the lesson plan that accompanied the syllabi that was given to me. Now I create my own lesson plans based off of the course material in the syllabi given to me, and my students are much more interactive. There is never a quiet moment in the classroom!
Brian,
The sad part is that the bag of tricks can only be purchased with experience. In a couple of years you will be pulling all kinds of tricks out of the bag when you need additional strategies or activities.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Being relatively new to instructing my first lecture was outlined but most of the material was known to all the students. Got to the end of the page and to the start of 20 minutes of the unknown. Really wish I could buy one of those "bags of tricks" :)
MICHAEL,
Been there as a beginning teacher. The tough part was as a new teacher I didn't have a bag of tricks to fall back on so I was left with a lot of silence. My students were kind and as with your experience we all had a good laugh and I was able to struggle through until the class was over. Talk about eternity! Your suggestion is a great one for new instructors or instructors introducing a new course where there is uncertainty about how the content will flow and what time will be required. Thanks for these comments.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In addition to planning I also do a trial run of the material so I have a general idea of how long the presentation will take and work out the kinks. I'll never forget my first lecture as a new instructor nine years ago. I prepared and organized the material flawlessly but ten minutes into it, my students and myself realized thing were going horribly wrong. I could tell
by their body language and facial expressions. I stopped, we all laughed about it, and continued the next day. It was a drafting class we just drew something for the remainder of time.
Planning is so very important to me! If I am not prepared how do I expect my students to do well and understand the material I am teaching? My ability to share and explain the material is vital for my students learning. If im not prepared I should not expect them to be prepared.
KEITH,
Yes, they are and without them instructors are not living up to their professional responsibilities. Also, through planning an instructor can approach the classroom or lab with confidence.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
