Dr. Meers,
I could not agree more with your statement about selling students in the classroom. Everyday I make it a point to tell my students why we are learning that material and how they can apply it. This strategy make a huge difference in retention numbers.
Josefer
Dr. Meers,
I will be presenting REFOCUS to my instructors tomorrow at our faculty meeting. We are just over the half way mark of the winter quarter and the energy drop off after our Student Appreciation Day is measurable!
We seem to go from sprint to sprint (quarter to quarter) with a busy training and prepping schedule between quarters. It seems like we barely take time to breathe!
Do you have any suggestions on between quarter activities for instructors to keep us fresh?
Josefer
Hi Karen,
It is interesting to me how easy it is to have negativity spread and how hard it is to spread positive information. After teaching in several schools early in my career that dealt with only the negative I determined that I would not be sucked into that type of setting. Since that time I have worked very hard to make sure my classroom/lab is not a negative energy source. I have changed jobs when I felt that I could not endure the negative setting any longer. The result has been that I enjoy teaching because I am determined to approach the classroom in a positive manner. Granted there are many negatives here where I work but I am not going to share them with my students nor let them enter my classroom. When my class starts I am going to have a good time with my students, enjoy teaching my field, and relfect a postive model for my students. This is what teaching is all about.
Gary
So that their negativity does not start to spread like wildfire to other teachers and then their students. Soon you have an entire staff that is unhappy and students that want to drop because they think the place is a joke!
Hi Matthew,
Everyone likes some type of new or innovative introduction of information. Your use of a “gee wiz†item at the end of the course is a good idea. How do you develop your “gee wiz†items? What are some components that you look for to make sure the topic is a “gee wiz†one?
Gary
Refocus for me sometimes means simply finding a different way to explain why the material in the last half of a course is just as important as that in the first half. As student concentration sometimes wanes when the end is in sight, I try to save at least one "gee wiz" type of topic or skill for the last week.
Hi Sarah,
When you start teaching on “autopilot†you have lost your edge in terms of professional development. Your point is well made.
I have found that through REFOCUS methods I develop additional energy needed to teach courses I have taught many times over the years. I don't want to become bored with the classes nor their content. Each time I teach the courses I look for different ways I can offer the materials, group the students, etc.
Do you have any examples of what you do when you practice the REFOCUS method?
Gary
It helps prevent teaching on 'autopilot' which can happen after teaching the same subject for awhile.
Hi Ruth Ann,
Very well said. Through refocusing we can REFOCUS ourselves and be more effective for our students. We must always keep our ultimate goal in sight and that is to provide quality instruction to our students in the most effective way possible.
Gary
I feel that if instructors do not take the time to REFOCUS themselves then they are more likely to suffer burnout, decrease their expectations of the students and the class and to have a general "I don't care" attitude.
I need to be reminded of this myself and to encourage my instructors to do this as well. We are so involved with getting the material covered, making sure that classes are covered that we forget to take the time to acknowledge what we have accomplished.
By REFOCUSing, we are better able to help our students REFOCUS on their personal lives and their career objectives and goals.
Hi Kimble,
You are right about keeping from getting in a rut. Once we do that as instructors we lose the edge we need as quality instructors.
Gary
to keep from getting in a rut from the day in day out routine. if we refocus and stay excited with our teaching, students will want to continue learning and will retain their material.
Hi Therese,
You are correct about instructors needing to stay in tune with themselves and their students. If there is a disconnect of any kind it reflects very quickly in the classroom. It is like the old saying “the water carried is only as good as the bucket it is carried inâ€. If instructors are dragging down and have lost their edge then the students will follow suit.
Instructors need to stop take stock and then direct their energy back into their students and their classes. For states that have long winters, this is akin to “cabin feverâ€. Instructors have to keep looking for some sunshine and opportunities in their classrooms. The REFOCUS model is intended to help instructors to get their focus back in perspective.
Gary
I think that the more often the instructor refocuses the more int une they stay with not only themselves but with the class they are teaching. In order for a studnet to be successful we ned to be successful. We can't be successful if we are not in tune, on track and motivated to be in the classroom each and every day.
Hi Michelle,
By your response to the forum I am not sure if you mean changing classes or changing the format of the class being taught, but either way instructors need variety. Many instructors have taught the same course 3-4 times a year for many years and haven't gotten bored with the course nor the contents due to the changes they make in the delivery. I teach one course 4 times each year, and each phase I try something new in terms of technology, activities, or assignments. This way I am constantly exploring how effective the class is with my students. This keeps me excited about the course and I am able to improve on the delivery each phase.
I would suggest that to keep motivated instructors need to look at learning styles and how they can improve retention, assessment of multiple intelligences and find more ways for students to internalize content, and then look for way to improve one's own professional development. All of these things will keep a professional educator focused on the task of teaching.
In your experience and reading what would be some strategies for instructors to use to keep themselves motivated about their subject?
Gary
if they do the same thing day in and day out they will become bored - changing class taught evey so offten helps wih refocusing
Hi Joseph,
The key to keeping the students engaged in the learning process is just what you mentioned in your last point. Keeping the students buying what we are selling. We can do this in many different ways but we must be sold on what we are doing first. By trying new ways of delivering the content we can keep ourselves excited. We don't need to change the whole course, just some little part of it to see if the instructional process goes easier. Everyone likes variety and after you have taught a course 5 or 6 times, you really need to seek new ways of delivering the content or you will become stale.
Using games, competitions, and new resources are all ways of keeping both you and your students engaged.
Gary
mainly because we can get complacent and it becomes routine. I had an instance the other day when I said to my students, this class will be boring, and as soon as I said that, they took it that way and I lost them. So in order to charge the batteries, we need to look at ourselves and see if what we are selling is what the students are buying...
Hi Andrew,
Yes, it is. You have captured the concept. It is a time assess the score and see if the team is ahead, how we can add to the score or if behind what can we do to score. In the instructional world this may mean delivering the content in a different way, or adding new assignments/projects, whatever.
Step out, take a deep breath, and then go back into the game with vigor.
Gary
Is "halftime" in a sporting event an example of the concept of REFOCUS?
