Make it about the students
It's so easy as teachers, espcially those of us with logical minds, to approach teaching as an efficient, orgainzed, step by step enterprise. This is ok, if students feel you CARE about them. In other words, we cannot let the efficiency get in the way of really caring about our students. And if we need to be flexible, so be it.
Hi Jerome,
Great to hear. I always like to learn about instructors that really enjoy their students and their subject matter. Keep up the good work.
Gary
You have expressed my teaching philosophy to a T. The course I teach encompasses four subjects within a three week class schedule. Class size, holidays,student learning abilities,and course requirements are all considerations requireing enormous flexibility. Adhearing strictly to the syallibus is not always possible in my situation so I have to be very flexible from moment to moment and still complete all the course requirements.I am defiantly enjoying being an Instructor.
Hi Andrea,
Your last sentence is what I really like about being an instructor. Change! Change comes to us each time we start a new course. We have new students, new dynamics, new activities and new content. Not all of them each time we teach the course but on a rotating basis. Never dull, never boring. What's not to love about being a teacher.
Gary
Being a flexible instructor is one component of student success.Courses are set up to meet specific outcomes within a timeline. However, no class of students is exactly like the previous. The instructor must be able to adjust the course delivery when needed. This can be difficult with a continual wide range of learners. This type of change can also be very fun for the instructor.
Thank you for saying that...if learning were a simple step-by-step enterprise we wouldn't need teachers...computers would work just fine! And, while we are on the subject, I've noticed in the CEE presentations, the personal pronoun "you" is used repeatedly, no doubt in an effort to personalize the lessons--to make it about the student. But, the reality is that in this format the word "you," can have just the opposite effect. For example, "When you begin developing lesson outlines, you...," the implication is that you haven't developed lesson outlines, or that you don't know how. When in fact, "you" might be seasoned instructor with state certification and advanced degrees. In this example, "you" is demeaning and instead of warming the student to the instructor and subject matter can be a put-off. So, here's the point: in making "it all about the students," avoid generalizing, be careful with "you" statements, they are too valuable to use lightly.
Instead of personalizing a lesson, the result may be a condescending tone.
Once a relationship born of understanding develops, "you" can be used appropriately and to a teacher's advantage; otherwise, it should be used with caution.
