Delivery is most important
How we deliver our material is the most relevant to our instructional capabilities. We can be prepared as much as possible and fall flat on our face when it comes time to delivery.
Be confident. Know your material backwards and forward. Make sure you are updated on current information.
To ease into the first class, review the polices, class ohjectives and most important, your expectations. Every instructor has a pet peave. Mine is following APA wiritng style and putting your name on every assignment.
By covering these initial goals, you will feel comfortable, once again, engaging your class.
As the next session begins, talk about what it is you expect the class to learn and how you will go about teaching. Make it fun and entertaining.
There are many techniques which suit each of us. Follow your heart and the elivery will fall into place.
Hi Donald,
I like your approach to teaching Algebra. I know it is fun for your students to play the role of detectives as they work through the problems. Whether find an error or not they have used their skills to analyze the problems. That really keeps them engaged.
Gary
Agree, all the above are needed and required. But with emphasis should be on making it fun for the student. The best way I have found to do that [I teach Algebra online] is around my making mistakes. Its very easy when solving a problem on the board or on a PowerPoint slide [online] to make a little mistake, like a minus sign where it should be plus. I have two techniques; if a student discovers it first, I laugh and make everyone comfortable about finding my mistakes. They love it. If I find it first, then I also laugh and correct the problem and ask why no one caught that before I did! They also love that.
Finally, I then explain that everyone makes mistakes even the professor, and I want them to speak up the moment they see a mistake. If its not a mistake {I explain} I'll tell them why, and if it IS a mistake I'll correct it and give that person an attaboy or attagirl! This makes examining my work a game and a challenge. It teaches them how to be careful, how to spot mistakes and they understand much better why they should check their work.
Also, once the class relaxes after a couple of times like this, they open up, they learn they that they are NOT the dummy in the room, they are smarter than they thought.
Works every time.
