Edward,
a lot of this can come with more study & preparation in these areas & then you will become as comfortable with them as you are with the technical aspects & find the presentations that much easier.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I do not have a background in education, but as a licensed massage therapist for almost 14 years, I fel I bring a wealth of knowledge to the massage program.
If I could enhance my communication skills to the point that the students are engaged by what I am saying, I would be happy. I would like to be able to make awkward stories more humorous and "manageable through humor". I would like to be able to get students excited about learning mundane and or technical things related to the massage curriculum.
I think this comes with much preparation and experience.
I would like to improve may lecturing and presentation ability with non-technical subjects. I find it easier to develop structure around my technical subjects such as mathematics, but I have less confidence presenting what I believe to be valuable material in a writing course for example. I do not want to short-change the students.
I stumble on words sometimes, I feel this is one area I need to improve on. I get tongue tied and it can be very frustrating. I feel like I lose the students attention when this happens.
Is it ok to ask the students what they feel they need to review?
shannon,
this can be a common problem. I've found that if I consciously slow down & also engage with the material that I love, it helps a lot in this area.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
shannon,
this can be a common problem. I've found that if I consciously slow down & also engage with the material that I love, it helps a lot in this area.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I would like to improve on becoming more comfortable in front of the classroom. I seem to stumble words sometimes and become nervous when all eyes are on me. at least at the very beginning of a new class.
I am very animated when I am speaking. I don't know if that is a negative interaction but it keeps students alert.
I would like to improve on my non-verbal communication skills. Being more theatrical in my approach to teaching can be entertaining and useful.
I find that I get a bit nervous at first and maybe don't use enough eye contact and mumble a bit. I would like to improve on this aspect of communication
After taking this course, it brought to my attention that maybe I do spend too much time behind the desk, so I will start moving out of my comfort zone.
As i continue to work on being a seasoned instructor, I find that sharing personal stories or examples gets the students attention, from that we can build upon the subject at hand.
I agree, I spend time in every class putting together a theme. That takes them into the professional world. I give them past experiances that I have gone through and make a funny tale. This why that can attach it to a process.
I need to work on my pacing. I teach a two-week course, formerly a one-week course; I'm so used to cramming all of the same material into one week that I find I rush things. As a result, even though I've included more material to compensate for the extra time, I sometimes find I've run out of topics to cover earlier than I should. Part of that is that the classes vary so much (sometimes they've involved and interactive, but other times they're silent, which makes my material go exceedingly fast. Any suggestions?
I would like to improve all of communication skills. I feel that there is always room to improve. I like the thought of videotaping, but how do you approach it and not let it distract your class or have it inhibit there participation in class due to nerves? My class area is very small and a camera would stand out or be a distraction.
My verbal communication skills because I want to make sure that my students completely understand what I am trying to say.
Jimmy,
and one of the key ways to do this is by demonstrating your openness & also through listening; this is the often neglected aspect of communication.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I want to improve my ability to connect with my students. Its important that I let them know I sincerely care about their success.
Jennifer,
yes, this is a common problem because often we are concentrating on what we are saying or the information & so it comes across as "mean" or "angry." It's great self-awareness & a good goal to work on.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
