Expert Instructors
I have been in class before where I have heard students say that instructors think they know it all and they feel they are always right.
I tell my students all the time that learning does not end when you become an instructor or has reached your career field of training. I stated to them that while I teach, I learn from my student too. I tell them to not place themselves in a box or shut down because there are so many other things to be learned while advancing in your career. As for instructors, we have to understand that no matter how long you teach a subject that each time you teach it, you learn something new. I find myself learning each and every time and bringing something new to the table.
I tell my students that I do not know
everything! No matter how many times I have taught a class, I leave my mind open to learn something new. Yes, I have proficiency of the subject, but I feel it is impossible to know everything. Often students will know detailed information of a topic that we discuss. Then I get to learn more. That is one of the great joys of teaching...always learning more on the subject and more on people.
Maribeth,
That's great. I think way too often we try to be that "sage on the stage" & have all the answers. But you demonstrate how really we are all life-long learners & so if I don't know something I'm going to learn!
Dr. Ryan Meers
I enjoy when a student asks a question that I am not 100% ready for. I use it as a way to show them how I go about looking it up, ask them to join me, and figure the answer out together. There are times when we can't find it at that moment, so I ask them for more time to research the correct answer. It is a team approach to solving the problem & we all learn from it.
John,
You are right, the ones that go the way they're supposed to are boring! I think it's great that you share your successes & failures that way the students know it's okay to make mistakes.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I tell my students I have been on thousands of service calls in my field and remember almost all where I did an exceptional job or really messed up. The thousands that were routine I have long forgot.
I always tell my students that even having over 25 years in the field you never stop learning, and they may ask a question I won't know the answer to. When this happens I let them know it's a great question and will find the answer for them.
as an educator, one must always be willing to learn and accept new concepts
I agree. I am always learning something new about the subjects I am teaching. Very often I learn from my students. Sometimes they research the topic and give me new information and sometimes they will ask a question I simply don't know the answer to. The latter sends me searching for an answer.
I find myself learning each and every time and bringing something new to the table.
I totally agree. In Culinary Arts it is important to releate real life success and failre to help my students not make the same mistakes. It also brings the reality check to the students that we are all human, make mistakes and here is how you fix it.
I feel that as a trade instructor, I try to mix personal experiences with the textbook training. I try to use mistakes that I have made to drive home the points about troubleshooting equipment, and safety practices that are necessary to be observed and what the consequences can be.
