I stay up to date by reading any new text that is added to the course. When a new version of the text comes out I always review it week by week so that I am able to find any new material. I also make sure to stay up to date with current events that apply to the course and listen to students.
I feel that learning more about the topic I teach and developing new ways of teaching can go hand in hand. In my quest for more knowledge of the subject matter that I teach, I have discovered different ways in which materials are presented. When I discover a new, less complex way to grasp the material, I, in turn teach my students the same methodology.
In my school, as an instructor we are required to do a specific amount of soft skill and technical training each quarter, so not only do I teach the subject matter, I'm also learning myself.
The courses I teach are three weeks long and every three weeks it's a classroom of new faces and different personalities. No two classes of students are taught in the same manner.
I have to constantly adjust my teaching style based on the make up of my class. We have a wide variety of students, from high school graduates,veterans, and even retired people wanting to learn something new.
It's always a challenge, but it's rarely boring!
Gary,
it's great when your interests & your subject align so you can experiment like this with new ideas & techniques; it really does help keep the instruction fresh.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I attend associational meetings and annual conferences to stay up to date in my profession. I then look for ways and methods to incorporate information from those meetings and seminars into my courses.
What we do is, at the beginning of the course we tell the students that at the end of the course their group will put on a short presentation on a topic they find interesting in our field. For example… heads up display, self/automatic parking. Adaptive cruise control, etc. Then on the last day each group comes up and does their presentation. Some make power point presentations some just give a short lecture, with all group members taking turns talking.
when preparing for a class, I like to review the material and it seems I always find or notice something interesting that I had not picked up before. This coupled with keeping a "weather report" on how learning is going for the class keeps me on track.
I try to keep my skills sharp by practicing daily what I teach. I also like to share ideas with other instructors. I have a shop at home where I try new skills outside of what I teach in the classroom that make welding enjoyable and give me things I can show and share with my students and other instructors.
This stems from your passion for the topic. Passion is important because it causes you to naturally take interest and learn more in what you are teaching.
Radha, I agree with you that it is necessary to keep learning to help teach students to code correctly. In the world of Medical Coding and Insurance, change is constant-- new guidelines, revisions to code descriptions or code numbers, and never-ending changes in insurance regulations--to name a few topics. So-YES- Learning is an unending opportunity and venture!
I try to keep up with changes and new information myself through continued education and subscription to sites or forums that provide updates and opportunities for learning. When I learn of new information or updates, I share that with the students and relate the information to what they are or will be doing in their field of study. In addition to that, I also encourage my students to share information they have; I remind the students that I am a learner too and that just like them, I want to learn something every day. There are times that I will also ask the students to do research on new ideas or changes on topics we are covering , and then share that information in class so we can all learn.
Holly,
all of these are great ideas, I especially like the idea of the peer reviewed evidence & the flipped classroom. I believe all of these will help the students.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
This is an ongoing process for me. I love to learn and I believe that is why I enjoy teaching as well. My tendency is to be over prepared, which for me also means reviewing the research on the subject matter I am teaching. I am a healthcare professional and we teach evidenced-based practice. I like to give projects that require students to share research from peer-reviewed sources. This helps them to get into good habits of looking at the research and what the evidence is for what they are proposing to do with a patient. I keep looking for ways to "flip the classroom" so that it is less of me explaining the information and more of the students discussing the material and asking for clarification. We are an accelerated program, so there is also a limited amount of time to get all the learning outcomes accomplished!
michael,
I think this is great as it keeps the material fresh for you as well.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Each quarter is a new learning experience for me to evaluate the material im presenting, in order to incorporate new data and teaching styles for my students.
Maria Estela,
this is an excellent idea, even if you are using the latest edition of a text, sometimes (depending on your field), there is more current information available.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Usually in preparing my lecture I try to study and make sure that I have new updates on the topic.Textbooks are old so I have to read the latest journals.
Joyce,
and I think sometimes it's okay to give them a little older info, especially if it's still good & some people still abide by it.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Sean,
and today's generation will quickly let you know if you are giving them out of date information.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I teach motorcycle electrical and for me the balance of learning about new topics and finding new ways to teach them is fairly easy. Most of my students are passionate about motorcycles and there is always new technology beiing introduced and often times the students will do their own research on the technology because it is for their own motorcycle so I end up learning about it from them.
