I agree. I definitely think that at times it is good to challenge the students to come up with answers by searching it out. The internet is always a good place for them to look. I have had students however who have written on evaluations that I should know more and shouldn't ask them to look things up on the internet. Sometimes they just want it handed to them. I think they learn more by doing some digging and then we can discuss it at the next class.
Certain topics are changing rapidly and it is a challenge to keep current on everything.
Its ok to let the student look up the information as well. I allow students to bring different ideas and thoughts(as well as expieriences) to the subject material. I dont claim to know everything. Its easy to be labled as a know-it-all or unaproachable. The subject that I teach is too diverse for one person to know everything. This means I've got to stay up on the latest technology and when something new comes up that I haven't heard of or dont understand, I challenge the students to find information and bring it to the next session for discussion. We combine the information together and come up with answers.
There are frequently new developments or explanationson so there is always something to discuss without going outside of curriculum.
Its better to explain why something is done rather than just say 'do it this way' because we always do it this way
When I was a college student and a graduate student awhile back the old standby was for professors to stand and lecture. So much has changed since I took a break and had my family and have now come back to teaching. I like the challenge of coming up with new ideas for how to get a lesson across. It gets easier after you have taught the class once. You know what material you have to present and now you can come up with BETTER ways to get it across.
I find the internet has a wealth of ideas and interactive sites to teach topics in Biology. My class is a hybrid...which means half class time and half online learning. I like to look for assignments they can do for the online portion of their class and have found many.
Keeping current also involves trying to find time to read science sections of newspapers and reading scientific journals. Things are always evolving.
I try and keep up with the subject that I teach by using the internet. I also attend local forums whenever possible.
when obtaining new knowledge i think of what it took to understand the material them create an activity around the information
Hi Glenn! True, a "talking head" who is an expert in the field and an encyclopedia of knowledge can completely lose students along the way - delivery of content = 1, learning = 0
Thanks for your comments,
Jay Hollowell
ED107 Guest Facilitator
i'm always looking at new ways to teach the class and looking for new knowledge through any resouce i can find.
Seeking a balance has become even more challenging. The explosion of information and the ease of access to this information can bury the "learner" self. I think it was Steven Covey who said "be efficient with tasks; be effective with people." The latter drives the the "facilitator" self.
I have 2 hours before class to prepare. My company has always provided me enough time to learn and develop. I have been doing this for several years. As a new instructor it was more of a challenge then it is for me now.
By interacting with the students and trying to get them to think about different ways of doing projects I can get a feeling of what they need, and how they will go about getting it. this is what i take into consideration when trying to teach something new to them!....how did they go about it?
I feel that you HAVE TO KNOW your material your teaching in order to create learning in the classroom. This is where these type of modules come in - We learn about the different types of student and the practices to create the enviorment for learning to take place which kinda does answer the How do you balance the need to learn more about the topics you teach with your need to develop new ways of teaching and your classroom time Question
there is no question that the more experence you have in your field the sharper you will be, I agree that no person knowes everything, to much innovation,to keep up without the effort.
I am always looking for new ways or better ways to do things. just because i know how i perform a certain task does not mean that there is not a better way or more effecient way to do it,so i try to encourage students to tell me how they thint it should be accomplished!
I try to keep up on all the new things going on in the industry but I also ask if anyone has heard of this going on and have students give their input.STudents will ussually let me know what ways they got the information and give me a idea of how they learn and what catches their interest.I try to keep learning fun safe and educational all at the same time which is real hard at times.
I feel that when I listen to my peers, it helps me out for when I teach my students.
I find that the daily exposure to the subject matter and discussing it with students takes care of most of the subject matter learning. When something new comes along I usually see it in articles from a professional association or a student will bring it to my attention.
Regarding how I develop new ways of teaching... I simply add one or two new ideas in each semester. If the idea or new process works, I keep it if not I try something different.
In both areas, I try to make small steps rather than investing huge amounts of time and making wholesale changes.
As an administrator, rather than a "teacher" I have the opportunity to observe teachers in the classroom, seeing what works in various situations and what doesn't. I encourage faculty to talk with one another about their ideas. What kinds of activities do they ues in their classes. How can they reach problem students. By discussing these and many other issues, they don't have to reinvent techniques that work. These discussions flow naturally from the collegial environment on our campus and enrich the instructor and student.
I enjoy going into other instructors classses to see what they are doing and how i might incorperate some of there lesson plan into my on presentation. i get ot see how there deferent approaches to a subject differs from mine and what aspect of ther presentation is different than mine
When a student asks a question that I cannot answer (and sometimes can) I make a class project out of it by supplying a reasonable amount of time for all to research and provide a response with references. This involves the students in the problem solving exercise and allowing them to tell the class how they found the information (a free second lesson on other available resources).
I feel this method serves well to increase confidence and knowledge all around and also reminds students that even the "subject matter expert" can still learn as well.
