Vance,
Good reminder for us all. Stay fresh and excited about what we are teaching and it will be reflected by our students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Kimberly,
Love your motto because it is essential that this motto be internalized by instructors. Each class session is critical to the total learning process of students and we have to believe that as we prepare for the class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
The longer you are an instructor, the more you will need to guard against falling into ruts. The more difficult and challenging the course, the more important it is to refocus mid-course. It's easy to blame students when the problem is, in fact, your own lack of focus.
Edward,
I agree with you in regards to refocusing to changes in the field. We need to pay attention to these changes, which sometimes makes stories from your experience fun to tell....I tend to say "When I was in the field or When I went to school"... It's important for them to see how advanced technology is, but be able to relate it to earlier times.
I also believe that Refocusing is important so you don't fall into Groundhogs Day routine, the same thing, over and over and over. You will burn yourself out; keep it fresh and change it up!
As instructors we need to be able to refocus on our own, by this I mean we need to recognize when we are running on empty. I am not always able to go to a conference, so I need to refocus and recharge myself- I can ask a colleague for help, listen to music when doing grades, go for a walk outside to refocus-point bring always bring it back to the student- my motto is-Every Student- Every Day-Every Time.
We can get into Mid-semester slumps and refocusing is a way to re-energize. Sit back and think of what all youve done in the first half of the course and stay energized to finish the second half strong!
Taking the time to refocus is a way to evaluate where you are and recharge you batteries to get the good attitude back or improved.
Marshall,
We need to remind ourselves of our passion for our field and then strive to make our delivery fresh and engaging each time the class meets. This will enhance student engagement and our proficiency in instruction.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Shawna,
So true so that is why we need to try and introduce new deliveries and content in our courses each time we teach them. One new teaching strategy helps us refine our delivery skills as well as keeps our interest in a course that we may have taught many times before.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Often we teache the same course or courses many times in a row. It's easy to be lulled into a routine of strict material focus and shortchange the student focus. I think that we as instructors have a great deal to learn from this module. We must get to know our students and their needs, experiences and motivations in order to keep the material fresh and alive for each and every class.
Our fields are always changing, our students have different experiences and challenges, and our presentations can become routine and boring. This is neither fun nor engaging for students to learn or instructors to teach. No one will want to be in that classroom.
I believe this is especially important after a difficult project or test. Lower than assessment scores can affect motivation of both instructors, and students. Understanding the need to refocus by an instructor is critical to restart the learning process.
Melonie,
Spoken like a true educator. You are bringing your passion to the class each time it meets. This is so important if you are going to model the level of professionalism you want from your students. Enthusiasm is catching as you know and with it come enhanced learning. A win win for everyone.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It is a good time to reassess your teaching style. Has it become stale and boring? Are you enthusiastic and excited teaching your course? Do the students want to come to your class? Are the students effectively learning the course material? Is it relevant to them? These are all questions you need to consider to make the necessary adjustments that will revitalize your passion and that of the students.
Taking the time to refocus ourselves as instructors is a way to re-energize ourselves and give us a reminder as to why we went into teaching in the first place.
Sometimes we just need a reminder as wo why we went into teaching.
I find myself doing this process automatically. It is really awesome to see that it is normal and to see it on paper...and that it is a good thing!
Also, some random thoughtts...I find personally that I naturally get alot of my energy from my students when applicable. (sometimes I have to be the creative one to help them with their energy level). Sometimes, I am struggling and they surprise me with their energy and wow when reflected among the group well everyone is uplifted and energized!
Sometimes when I am struggling before we commence a session, I just tell myself to fake it when I get started because once I get started--wow, the entheusiasm and excitment of teaching and the responsibility it entails always picks me up! I also know that the student's will pick up my entheusiasm and then pretty soon I am feeling it more genuinely as well! This works good for me and keeps us all going!
I teach massage therapy,and I have had to refocus on a lot of new modalities as we are incorporating more and more to wards medical health and well being.
Sometimes if we tend to teach the same courses over and over again, it becomes redundant. Auto pilot is not always a good thing. Not to mention that the field of Healthcare is ever-changing. In order to be an effective instructor, you must be able to "learn" in order to teach.
Saroj,
Right you are. We instructors need to strive to stay refreshed and current with our content. By doing so we are showing our students how much we value our field and the content that is being shared.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Nobody is perfect in knowledge to teach. Even though one is teaching the course for a long time, still review is very important. New and current thoughts must be added to the lecture material.
Saroj patel
