In order to keep my license current and active, I need to take continuing education classes/conferences every 2 years. There is so much to choose from with online courses, books, and classes held in nearby hotels or hospitals, etc. The variety of topics and formats available always makes the learning new,fun and appropriate for me. I look forward to being with like-minded people and learning the newest info they have to share. I find I am very enthusiastic and motivated to share with my students what I have learned after a conference or class, or new book. Fortunately the faculty leadership at my school is very pro-active in helping us to incorporate learning styles, and different techniques to make our teaching/facilitating approach more relevant to our students. At faculty meetings we share situations and knowledge about what is not working and what can be done to be more effective. A life-long 'love of learning' has helped me to prepare for and balance fundamentals with new ideas.
Constantly reminding myself that balance is the key to effective teaching.
Meagan,
this is a great opportunity to have to be able to keep the information fresh & relevant.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I currently work within the field in which I instruct. I makes it very easy for me to stay current not to mention I am able to provide the students real life experiences.
Timothy,
I like this idea & try to do the same myself. It helps me learn & also shows my students that I am continually trying to find new technology.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Rosa,
all of these are great ways to learn & be able to acquire knowledge, techniques & feedback from multiple sources.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I know when I have been away from a topic for a while I may have to allocate some time for review. I also learn a tremendous amount from my students and other instructors. Finally, I am also working on a master's in teaching.
I participate in ongoing education in areas such as faculty inservices and online learning such as this. At the school I teach, our program director stays on top of current information for us to pass along to students. I make sure I have lesson plans completed several weeks in advance to allow time for different teaching methods. I try to engage students in the topic so they participate well in activities.
Setting aside a special time for you to really few the subject.
by researching outside of class and continually noticing what is engaging to the students and making adjustments based on those observations.
Each time I learn something new about a topic I think about how I can introduce this to my students in a fun way. I bring up several different comments or ideas that will reinforce and/or contradict the new theory or concept until it motivates or stimulates a response from the students. This will in many cases cause a chain reaction and will get the whole class to participate.
I have found that Professional Development classes have helped me balance the learning/teaching areas. I have learned from colleagues and facilitators about the topics I teach, as well as, continuously share "Best Practices" regarding effective ways of teaching the content.
Thadeus,
I too like to pull in new articles & information as it helps demonstrate to the students that I'm trying to stay fresh in the field.
Dr. Ryan Meers
allen,
these are all great ways to help growing in our role & I especially like the idea of spending time with other instructors & learning from each other.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I use this same technique, with the exception it is in the Practice of Pharmacy. I will also try and incorporate any articles on new technologies, techniques, laws etc... and together in class we discuss their impact on the practice.
My interest in my field,along with the wealth of information available to me gives me enough time to keep current on technology.
I am able to spend time with other instructors,along with training like CEE which helps me develope new training ideas to improve my facilitator role.
Thomas,
I agree & I think by bringing in the new technology we can demonstrate that often the core/basic concepts don't change, just the tools. If we don't show this, there may be a temptation for our students to assume the basics are outdated as well as our technology.
Dr. Ryan Meers
As instructors we should always keep up on new technology in our field and share that information with our students. Instructors are a valuable asset to the students that he or she has they may work in the field that have knowledge and experience on topic that will be covered in the classroom and asking the students to share their experiences not only brings information to the class but it also keeps everyone engaged and part of the learning experience.
I usually take the time to do a brief demonstration of the "old fashioned" technique and talk about the older products capabilities. Then I explain and show the modern product and its capabilities. This way the students can appreciate how advanced modern dentistry is as well as how user friendly it has become. For my own knowledge, I try to look up new product on line, keep in touch with my colleuges that are still in the field and stroll the dental section of the the local pharmacy once in a while.
Aaron,
this is a great way to learn; I highly suggest observing other instructors to learn best practices.
Dr. Ryan Meers
