Sometimes this is necessary when you feel students are not engaged in your instructions or when they do not properly comprehend the information.
Larry,
Passion for one's field and enthusiasm for teaching about it are two essential elements needed for student engagement. You are right if the instructor is not excited about being in class it is for sure the students won't be either.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree completely. If an instructor lacks excitement about the subject they are teaching it will always show.
Robert,
Thank you for these good ideas on how to remain fresh in the classroom and excited about teaching. These reflection times can really help with course improvement.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Over time you can become stagnated and even bored with the same information. That is when it is time to step back and take a look from outside the box. Even observing another instructor can recharge you and give new in-site of how to reach the students.
Irving,
This is why there needs to be a change of pace and variety in the instructional delivery so their attention will remain on the instructor and the class. The more they feel a part of the class the higher their retention rate will be.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Students attention spans are short. You have to keep students focus because they have so many distractions.
Pandora,
I wish you much success as you get ready for the upcoming term. Have fun and bring your passion for your field to your class while enjoying your students and their learning progress.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
This lesson is perfect for our current term time frame. We are on break and I have been thinking about how to return and keep excitement in the classroom. There were some great tips to help finish out the term successfully.
Timothy,
Readings like this are so important for the reasons you cite. As you say taking the "pulse" of the class and help you to redirect if needed and then move to the successful conclusion of another course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am well aware of the need to refocus by midterm in some of my classes. The things that were mentioned were good and insightful.Sometimes i must take a "pulse" to see what students reactions may be . Sometimes the reaction is
positive. Othertimes it seems a bit negative . That is actually one way for me to see where I am at on the continum .
It's always important to take time to refocus because Instructors need to clearly evaluate their students as well as themselves. Many times as an instructor, you assume your students are learning and retaining material in the way you are presenting it; however, everyone has a different learning style and it may be necessary for an instructor to adjust the mode of delivery in order to ensure adequate learning.
i think that instructors need to refocus themselves periodically, because each term presents its own challenges throughout and its important to recognize when the zale for being a educator begins to go dim. Refocusing helps the instructor reflect on things that have help in the past and how applying thoses victories to the future can help the student and the instructor. As instrustors we constantly evaluate our students and as instructors we should also evaluate ourselves so that we can continue to improve as well.
Deborah,
Way to go in helping yourself to redirect as needed to keep a class of this length on course. This is such a good strategy to follow so you do not waste class time and keep the students moving forward.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Instructors sometimes get bored with the teaching the same material over and over again therefore they need to occasionally take time and Refocus
Brenda,
What do you do to overcome burn out?
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It gives me time to reflect on the things that was not effective in the first hour of class and helps me to re-build on the next hour to go back and reflect on the things discussed the first hour to insure that the student grasped the concept that was being discussed, before going on to the class activity.
Sometime we can get burnedout
I can feel you i'm going to have one now!lol.
Paula,
Something we need to always be on the look out for and strive to prevent if we are going to stay at the top of our game as educators.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
