Sometimes if an instructor isn't careful they can fall into a rut by doing the same method over and over. This makes the instructor bored and the students sense this and loses inspiration to learn. By making subdue changes in the class not only does it keep the instructor fresh and motivated but it keeps the students goal alive as well.
Hi Donald,
Good to hear that the course came at a good time for you. I know classes can be difficult depending upon how they come together at certain times. I am encouraged by your positive attitude and command of the behaviors. Keep up the good work.
Gary
This course comes at a good time for me. I have a difficult class where the class is divided into the Hatfields and McCoys. I have had to refocus the class several times and stressed to them that the energy should be focused on learning. After resolving several issues, I addressed the class and reviewed with them were they should be at this point. Which most of them are not.
I now have additional knowledge which I can use to motivate and change attitudes. Thank you.
Hi Bennett,
The more tactile or activity based instruction you can offer the better your students will be able to integrate the information into their working memory. Also, the REFOCUS model is to serve as a reminder of how we need to keep our interest up about our teaching, feel free to revise it in any way that will be of help to your professional development.
Gary
We can become complacent and a little to comfortable with teaching a class over and over. Each group is differant and need to be handled in a new way. Keeping an awareness of this willn help us be more aware of thes pitfalls
I attended an member association meeting this week and was "jumping" with the chance to come to class and share. That has been the past 3 days and I'm still excited.
I seems to me after reading the material over the past 4 weeks that not all the letters in the word "refocus" seem to apply but perhaps with different words it will work.
I'd like to find more for the visual, kenetic lerner and work with that material to reach more of the students in the class.
Hi Bill,
You are right about needing to stay fresh. What are some things you do to keep fresh and excited about the courses you teach?
Gary
To stay on track, ensure the students are getting the full extent of course content and that they are retaining it. The instructor must not get stale or he/she will loose the student.
Hi Doreen,
Well said about the different aspects of professional development. We need to be looking for ways to offer variety to our students while keeping ourselves fresh with our content.
Gary
The work we do as educators is not static. It changes all the time. By taking the time to REFOCUS, we commit ourselves to re-learning our craft. It also gets us to be reflective about what it is we do. Also, it gets us to think about how we can better communicate with our ever changing student body.
Hi Patrick,
Right you are about we instructors needing to look inside ourselves at times. What are some methods you use to look at what you are doing as an educator and how you can improve on your abilities.
Gary
At all time the instructor must take some tiome for a personal introspection of his teaching method to impact the quality of his class.
Hi Bridget,
Well said. A great reminder for all of us educators, that we have to bring our A game to the class/lab everyday no matter how we feel.
Gary
Hi Abundio,
Well said. We have to look within ourselves to see where we are at with our own motivation and excitement for what we are doing. If we don't we can become stale very quickly and it will effect our teaching.
Gary
Hi Ray,
Good point about REFOCUS. All instructors need to do this so we keep our delivery fresh and our content current. By doing so we will keep our excitement up for what we are teaching and the students we have.
Gary
Hi Judy,
You are doing a great job of keeping current as well as refining your delivery so you can remain fresh in your approach. This is what a professional educator is all about. Keep up the good work.
Gary
I completely agree. Our body language, our tone, how we present the material, whether we stand or sit through the entire lesson, all speaks to the students in our classes. When we are in a slump, we model that it is okay to be to be off your game. This is the time that discipline must kick in and our students will observe professionalism in action.
Refocus is a multi-step process that the instructor can recharges when they are felling discourage by the progression of the students.
It is important to step back and give ourselves a time to refocus, just to give time ourselves to remain calm and focus to our main goal, student success.
Instructor introspection, can help analize and help think the proper step to guide our student to the effective way of learning and retain that knowledge.
Other than keeping up with the new trends in teaching It is always good to REFOCUS when you feel that you are not reaching your students learning potential or not understanding what you are trying to get across to them
As instructors, our energy is contagious. When we are in a slump, our students can tell and can take on this attitude. I am always looking for new examples to offer so that I am not always using the same ones, which can be boring for me. I also try to interject current events and items from the news. I also encourage my students to do the same and I spend time listening to and helping them to develop their ideas.
