Hi Scott!
I feel your pain when it comes to preparing without compensation. But we do what we do for a reason and it's not all about the mwoney. I also agree that being prepared works for both the student and instructor.
I wonder if group work would work for instructors as well????
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
I find this very difficult. As instructor in a tech. school you must stay on top of a ever changing industry. I still receive trade publications that help and I have found online courses very helpful. New ways of teaching do not come as easy. First of all in my school I am seldom in the same room 2 classes in a roll. Every 3 weeks we change. I try to sit in on other instrustors as time permits and online course like this one give new ideas. However I have learned it all takes time to get the ok from mangement and get any change into practice. Also I have seen too many families split up because of too much time at work. As a husband and father I guard against this temptation. So to sum up balance is the word. I know I will never stop learning both in my field and how to pass my knowledge on to my students but there is allways tomorrow. I try to learn from the past, plan for the future BUT live in today.
There really is no substitute for outside-of-class prep time. It's true of the students: just taking notes or participating in the in-class Jeopardy game can not substute for actully doing the readings, reviewing the notes and doing the homework/projects. And it's true of the instructors: just having a solid knowledge base and winging it will inevitably produce outcomes infoerior to those arrived at by studying, preparation of slides and notes, planning of questions and activities.
It can be frustrating for the adjunct instructor, having no paid office hours or prep time, watching their effective hourly rate plummet with each additional hour of out-of-class prep time put in. However, without that of-of-class prep time, the classroom experience will be more stressful for the instructor* and less useful for the student.
*With all due respect, I'm gonna stick with "instructor", not "learning facilitator." The former is long-established and apt, the latter smacks of feel-good jargonization for its own sake.
So Carol you are always objectivily looking for ways to improve what you have already done. Good job!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
Greetings Joseph!
I believe you are saying a "happy medium" can be reached while continuing to covering the material.
Good job!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
I try to keep current with industry news and articles. I also take seminars as they present themselves in the area that I teach so I can see new techniques or information that relates to my teaching. I do like to look at what I thought wasn't particularly sucessful and decide how I can redo that part of the lesson plans, or come up with a new project or idea for them to be more involved.
As part of our job requirement I'm required to do 20 hours a year of technical training for my feild. But I also find I learn a great deal from my students. Often times they may have read or seen something that I have not. I like to share it with the class and encourage others to do the same. I'll often say to the whole class "Thats interesting, I didn't know that." or something to that effect. I explain to my students that no matter how much they may know there is always something new to learn. I do my best to demonstrate that learning is a two way street.
I also esplain that when they are working in the feild being humble with their technical knowledge when speaking to co-workers will make them more willing to help. Sharing the knowledge we have makes us all better at our jobs and more successful in our feilds.
I DO agree with the concept that tricks and misdirection can not take the place of subject knowledge... but if the subject knowledge is there and core content is being covered,... the more entertaining the subject, the more the student is going to learn.
Jocelyn I absolutely agree! I feel like it my responsibility to learn at least one new thing a day. This helps me in the classroom to encourage and role model a behavior for life long learning.
Keep up the good work!
Jane Davis
ED107 Facilitator
Hi
For one thing- never stop be interested. Continue to read and be involved in your subject. I think being a part of an organization for your subject can help to also keep you invigorated with the current topics.
Keep in mind that new developments can be exciting and having a discussion with students about this can make the course more relevant for them when they go out to use the knowledge.
Jocelyn
Attending conferences, reading magazines, and working on client projects. Also, working on private experiments, or collaborating with a small group of like-minded professionals :-)
I haven't mastered how to get that done yet. I am very pressed for time and do not get much prep time.
Being an automotive instructor,I find it very benificial to reserch my material on all-data,talk to other instructors,read trade magazines etc. I then apply this knowledge to my core curriculum to expand the learning experience.
I have been doing this for 14yrs now in an enviroment that I see changing year to year.. due to students .. also do to changes from the top going down to us. As a Learning Facilitator one must be able to change (accept change).. and to grow in their position every day and every year to change as the social changes do the same.
I can't say enough about how much your situation hits home to me. I've also been labled a maverick freestyler in in my accelerated learning abilities. Students line up to ask the admin staff to schedule for my classes. You never know what trick's I'll use,they really aren't tricks just attention getters,to keep students focused. There is one thing that is certain though my class loves to come to class,and I get appologies or reasons why they couldn't attend. I'm glad they particapate in their education the way they do, and honored they feel that way.
In teaching your first class many will experience anxiety beyond belief. Instructors will often second guess their methods and styles. As they gain more experience (perhaps by the second and third class) they will come into their own styles thus perfecting technics. Becoming more familiar with course content facilitors will implement other technics as a result in being more confident and polished. Confidence is the name of the game resulting in boarden one's horizons.
Being a new instructor I have not had the opportunity to apply "new" ways of teaching since it is all new. But the ways that were taught when I was being trained can be contrasted to the new topics that the CEE brings out. The CEE curriculm is much more learner focussed and facilitator friendly. This allows the facilitator to have the time to cross train and interact with those around them.
it takes trial and error....
I noticed that you get different questions from differt classes. There are times when a student may ask a question I have never been asked before.It puts a hole new way to look at the material.I have even had parts of the material I never really put much emph on until a student asked. Thenthe material became part of dicussion.
As a technical instructor, you have to first know your subject material to address any issues rising from students who are indeed technically saavy. Once you feel comfortable, you then need to examine your audience of students. Find out more about who is advanced and who is still learning infancy mode so to speak. Then formulate a plan to deliver the material. It sounds hard, but in reality, it is quite simple once you have some solid plan of attack.
