Lori,
Good point about showing students your human side from the beginning of class. This is a very important part of being an engaging and effective instructor. This helps you to earn the respect of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Good teacher student rapport is essential for success in the adult learner classroom settings.
My hope with introductions is to make students feel that I am human...and that I care about them as a person. I want them to feel that I am going to be there for them throughout their struggles to help them learn and understand. I hope that I will be able to instill in them how wonderful Nursing can be and how awesome it is to be able to help people in their greatest time of need.
LaWandra,
Good way to start a new class. I like your use of the words dedication and commitment. These are two very important words that seem to be missing in a lot of our students. They want to use the word entitlement. They are entitled to a grade because they have enrolled in the college and course. This mind set needs to be changed so they can learn self discipline and as a result achieve their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Debra,
Right you are about the value of taking the time for introductions and ice breakers. These activities help to start the development of respect for everyone in the class as well shows the students what they can expect from the class in the coming sessions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
An introduction from the instructor and the student allows each student to try and remeber classmates names,nick names. They have a chance to hear and see if that person is someone they may want to team up with as a study partner, etc.
On the Instructor aspect of it, I am able to learn the student names, a little something about them, if there is a timid side of them(???-although their personalities changes after learning their fellow classmates), if they have the ability to articulate their message clearly and exactly why they decided to enroll.
In doing so, it tells me if they are there because they want to be, have a point to prove to a particular person/persons that said they would and could not make it or they were forced to enroll due to some type of living situations.
Then, I can just about decided the dedication and commitment of that individual.
The information obtained by the instructor during introductions gives the instructor knowledge of each individual learner. A base to build on teaching techniques, sharing a comfort level, and contact information when things may come up during the course and how the student should handle them.
The student gains information about the instructor building confidence that the instructor is capable of teaching and sharing knowledge relevant to the subject. The student also may obtain information concerning the course, how to contact instructor in case of emergencies, and set a easy with comfortability to be successful in the class.
Tena,
So true and so important. This is the foundation of earning the respect of your students while you are respecting them through listening to their introductions and reasons why they are taking the course. From then on it is a building process leading to the development of rapport.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Wow, what a great question! As an instructor, you will accomplish so much through introduction. When an instructor gives an introduction of one’s self you start the building of trust. You open the mindset of the student to know that you’ve been through hurdles and overcame some obstacles. That relationship between the instructor and student begins. From a student stand point, an introduction will offer the instructor different background information, what struggles he/she went through, what are the personal goals the student has set for themselves, and what will be the overall accomplishment hoped to be achieved by that individual. Again, having this information builds that instructor/student relationship.
it helps you get a feel for how you plan to work with that studen, and it tells the student what kind of instructor and person you are and how he o she can approch you
Kristopher,
Right you are and this is why the first class meeting needs to be well planned and organized.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It appears to me that this initial introduction can set the tone for the entire course.
David,
I think you will like the results you get from this approach.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
That sounds like a good breakdown.
Kathy,
This is the human side teaching and you have outlined it very well. This information enables you to customize your instructional delivery to target the current groups of students and provide support to them as needed.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Sometimes it has felt a bit like spying... Because I know that I am paying close attention to the information they are sharing.
Beyond initially learning their names and faces... It will help me interact with them throughout the course. I can ask specific questions about their lives instead of the general 'how are you?' I can steer the conversations toward application of class material that is pertinent to their lives.
Gathering personal data lets me weave them into the class and show them how this new skill and information can be incorporated into their lives much more quickly than if I know nothing about them.
Kathy
Through introductions a bond or rapport can be established. It allows both the student and the instructor to become familiar with each other and even gain a connection so that students can see the instructor as a human being and instructors are allowed the opportunity to learn not only about the individual, but also any nicknames they prefer to be called by.
Richard,
Respect has to be earned by both sides of the classroom or lab. The teacher needs to respect the students and they in turn respect the teacher for what is being shared and the experience that they have access to. The blending of the content and the human factor is an essential part of teaching success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I see this as a two way street where instructor and student are establishing some common ground. If done properly, the student sees the instructor as the authority figure in the classroom with a human side, and at the same time the instructor stands to learm something about the student that might help him keep the student motivated toward a successful course completion.
Hearing what they want and how they feel we can help them achieve their goals makes planning more effective.
