i do to make sure i dont get off track and stay on task.
Hi Jose,
Great idea! You captured the interest of your students and engaged everyone because they never knew where the ball would go next. Students like activities that require movement as well as thinking. This exercise involves both.
Gary
I noticed two of my students falling asleep during class last week.I thought to myself, instead of getting after them for it i'll use a nurf football to pick the next person to read and answer the questions on the board. My plan worked out just fine,I tossed the football from student to student and they ended up having a blast as well as retaining the lesson just fine. I also noticed that some of the students that don't participate very often joined right in.
Hi Kari,
Well said. I teach a number of sections of the same course each phase and I always introduce something new to how I present the material. This keeps me excited about what kind of results I will get and that keeps me focused on my teaching.
Good comments about how to keep refreshed in your teaching.
Gary
Hi Ernest,
Right you are. If you are burned out or used up to the point you can't be excited about what you are teaching then your students won't be either.
By refreshing and refocusing yourself you will be able to influence the learning of your students in a positive way.
Gary
Instructors tend to teach the same courses over and over with the same objectives and course materials. Frankly, it becomes boring. If the instructor is bored, the students will be too. It is not fair to treat each class like the previous one. Therefore, instructors should ideally refocus before or shortly after the start each new class. This will prevent instructors from falling into a rut and will create a more exciting learning environment for the students.
A good friend, fellow instructor and mentor used to say that we are not just teachers, we are more like "cheerleaders". We should excite the students so that they want to learn. Having said that, it's hard to be a cheerleader when you're at the end of your rope and all out of "Rah Rah". You have to take time out for yourself and become rejuvenated. This way you can be excited and enthusiastic when you get back into the classroom!
It's important that an instructor evaluate him or herself as well as the students. It's also important that the instructor reinforce and review the skills the students have acquired.
we have to remind ourselves that we were in their shoes at one point inour lives. If we don't keep in mind all the stresses we went through as students, and keep them in mind when we talk to our students, we are no longer humans with compassion. We should treat our students the we wanted to be treated when we were in there shoes.
Hi Eric,
Well said. It is easy to forget why we are there in the first place. We need to maintain our excitement if we expect our students to be excited. Plus, if we are excited then teaching will be more fun.
Gary
Instructors need to REFOCUS to elimanate being mundane. The idea is not to get wrapped up in the daily grind of managing the class and remember that it should still be fun and interesting.
We tend to get caught up with the everyday resposibilities and duties and we can lose focus and enthusiasm. That is why it is important to take time and REFOCUS to get back the energy and keep the students involved and in class
Hi Dottie,
You make a number of very good points about teaching and teachers. It is a great opportunity that we have to share our knowledge and experience with the next generation of people entering our career field. As a result we have to work very hard to the role models and educational leaders that our student need.
Gary
Hi Gary,
I find if I lose interest or enthusiasm, so do my students. I have to put on an act that all is well and exciting on days when I would rather be at home resting or recouping from something.
Good instructors not only have to be good storytellers, they also have to be accomplished actors. When a disruptive student steps on your last nerve, you sometimes have to give a stellar performance of calm and concern to save that student's continued presence in the program and the classroom rapport. Showing respect to that student and the other students in the class may take every ounce of control of your own emotions not to react but to defuse and redirect that student.
Our course requires near perfection in stroking on the machine so their realtime translations are accurate for the courtroom and television captioning.
I try to teach them some shortcuts to writing more words in one stroke and fun or interesting things they can toggle in their software to help refocus their enthusiasm to continue.
I believe teaching is a calling and not a job. If someone does not have that inner desire to teach and help students unlock their potential, that instructor will not be very influential and will not be happy about what their position requires of them. I often have great ideas that cannot be used because the budget does not allow for it, but that does not dampen my enthusiasm. That actually challenges me to become more creative.
Musr run as the bell just rang.
Dotti
It's important to refocus with each new group of students. Our classes change three weeks.
Hi Larry,
You are right about needing to have wide vision. You can fail to see a student that is on the bubble of leaving and not even notice the signs until it is too late. By having this focused vision you will be alert to those needing help in time to be of assistance to them.
Gary
Without refousing you will find your self with tunnel vision in the class room this will allow you to lose sight of some of your students and lose them. If you refocus and take time to look around your class you will pickup on the students that are falling to the way side or are being left behine.
Hi Marina,
You make a very good point about needing to keep things fresh if we as instructors are going to keep bringing our A game to the classroom. I try to do at least one thing differently each time I teach a course to see how it works. This does two things for me, one I get excited about seeing if it will work and two it challenges me to come up with the new method, idea or delivery. This way I can continue to improve in my teaching while adding additional teaching tools to my professional development.
Gary
I have found that, in agreement with this module, experienced instructors can loose sight of the needs of the students and settle into a routine that doesn't evolve. When the repetition of teaching the same course settles in, it seems that we are teaching the same students and that causes a certain level of stagnation in the part of the instructor which in turn translates into missing out on identifying and understanding each student's needs as individual needs.
Hi Scott,
What are some strategies that you use to prevent yourself from burning out? We must strive as educators to be fresh and excited about what we teach so our students will be excited to learn.
Gary
