I get tongue tied when speaking and stumble over my words especially a medical that I have not pronounced in some time. I think I need to slow down a little, which helps. Any other suggestions?
James,
this is definitely a danger for many of us. Sometimes those illustrations that are seemingly unrelated can work well, but as you said, we have to keep the main point in mind.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I have to be careful not to wander too far from the current lesson. I do at times use seeminly unrelated subjects or comments to focus in on a specific lesson concept, but at times I let it get too far from the goal of the lesson. It is worse when I loose my point as I deviate too far from the main idea. While I do believe some of t his randomness drives us towards new concepts, I can tend to just get lost.
Jorell,
I agree that helping our students grasp the big picture or big ideas of the course & also of how it fits into all of their career is key.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I would have to say using eye contact. I have been told by my superiors that I have a tendancy to intimidate people when I look at them and that is not at all my intent. I try to make eye contact with each student everyday, but if it's any longer than a glance, it seems that they feel threatened by it. I have began to be gun shy about making eye contact because of this. Any suggestions would be very helpful.
On the other side of this coin though, is that I love to learn each students name very quickly and that seems to take the edge off that my eye contact might have caused. By learniing and knowing each student by name, without tentcards, lets them know that I am interested in them as an individual and their success throughout the program.
I personally would like to practice providing the big picture. I teach in an online environment so some the the tools in module one would not directly apply.
Kathryn,
a very common problem for many of us. Yes, use that pause & strategic questions & these can be of great help.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I know I need to slow down my pace for two reasons. The most obvious is that I tend to go way faster than the students can follow (here the idea of the pause will be super!) When I get really going my mouth does not keep up with my brain and I tend to goober things up.
Maria,
definitely if we could develop these skills it opens the opportunity to reach a whole different group of learners.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Th non-verbal language ASL, as I have had multiple students in my class that are deaf and sometimes feel left out in a speaking class.
Stefano,
this is definitely a challenge that we are increasingly facing in our classrooms. I think you handle it very professionally & hopefully the domestic students will learn to be patient & understanding.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Everything is something I personally work on everyday. Because it does help with the deliverance of the lecture.
I also need to work on how I address students with a strong foreign accent. Although I was raised abroad and my pronunciation is not always standard, I have a really hard time understanding some Asian and African students. Also, some of my students are new to the formal grammatical structure of the English language, so I sometimes have to decipher what they really meant to ask from what they actually said. When I stumble on what they asked, I apologetically ask them to repeat or to further explain what they are asking. Once I am able to answer, I try to reword a student-approved interpretation for the benefit of the entire class. I also take the opportunity to correct any misuse of the course terminology, so as to avoid any confusion.
I want to be able to understand what these students are truly saying without disrupting the flow of the class; some of my domestic students get annoyed because I spend so much time (sometimes 3 minutes) trying to decipher these questions.
I am very passionate about my field of expertise, which is psychology. I would like to be a little less passionate about human behavior because the more I talk, the faster I talk. I need to slow down in the delivery of information. I always feel a sense of urgency about covering whatever topics we are covering and tend to rush through the material.
I would like to improve on my pace, I am a fast talker. It is important to me to make sure that I am communicating effectively to all my students and making sure that all the students are able to follow along, successfully. I am developing balance.
Jerri,
using a more simple vocabulary does really help our students understand the more complicated concepts.
Dr. Ryan Meers
Michelle,
this is very true & really will help include everyone. I also think it makes it so there really is no "back" of the room.
Dr. Ryan Meers
I feel sometimes the need to "tone down" my use of more complex sentenances while lecturing.mI have very proper grammer and an expanded vocabulary. i sometimes think my students get lost in the words I may choose to use. I think I should continue to speek grammitically correct but with more simple vocabulary.
Moving around the room more during lecture and getting some visual aid posters on the wall. This will help me include everyone in the class from the front to the back of the room
Matthew,
this is an important skill for an instructor. One thing I've found helpful is to write down some really thought provoking questions ahead of time so the students are really challenged to think.
Dr. Ryan Meers
