there are always new things popping up in the field to stay motivated in teaching is to continue to learn and practice.
Instructors, especially adjuncts who work another full time job, can become tired and burned out due to the stresses of having to work and teach. "REFOCUSING" can help them to re-energize especially in the middle of the course when frustration and apathy can creep in.
Each class and each term is different, so it is necessary to pay attention to the ebb and flow of the learning experience and fine-tune your techniques, customizing them a bit to fit the class. In some ways, you have to be like an entertainer, "working the crowd".
AS time goes by, so does our passion. Our jobs become an everyday routine, but to the student it is brand new and exiting. Instructors need to refocus, because even though the lesson is old and beaten up, to the student it is the first time they see it and it is exiting.
Krista,
You have to bring excitement to the classroom. If you don't it is gong to be a long class session. One of the fun parts of teaching is being able to use creativity to generate student enthusiasm. When this happens it is a win win for everyone.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Sometimes teaching a certain class for a while can get dull. If you exude this "boredom" with the topic to your students, they will not want to learn or feel that learning that particular topic is important.
Marlene,
Well said and a good reminder for all instructors. We need to keep current and fresh in our instruction or we will be doing a dis-service to our students.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I read the respones to this question, and I see this a tad different from most I guess. Refocus is needed to continue a learning environment. I tend to think that my students benifit from learning this skill as much as I do. We are human, and life events enter into all areas, for me and for my students. In order for a professional person to accomplish a high level of learning, productivity, compassion, empathy, skill, etc... the mind needs ajustments frequently or apathy, boardom,failure, etc... can take over.
As instructors, we sometimes get caught up in trying to cover all the material we assigned for the course at the beginning of the term. However, this is not practical. We need to build in some flexibility based on the needs of the class. Refocusing on the class around the middle of the term is important because not all the students may have meet ALL of the objectives set at the beginning. This will enable the instructor to address areas of deficiency.
John,
You excitement is catching about your own professional growth as an educator. Thank you for sharing it with us. As a result each class of students is being better served by you because you have chosen to be a life long learner.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Instructors forget material and have to relearn subjects just like students have to.
Instructors need to re-focus because this reminds them why they teach every day. If we did not have a reality check on why we do what we do, then we are not teaching the student anything. Re-focusing helps us by re-inforcing our career decision.
refocus may bge as easy as changing up to another course to revitalize yourself
If an instructor has taught a particular subject for a while they may become burnout and show less enthusiasm for the subject, which the students will pick up on. By applying the "REFOCUS" method this helps to re-energize the instructor and get him/her back on track.
Instructors need to make sure that they are charged and ready to go every time they step in the classroom. If the students sense that the instructor is not 'in the mood' or not focused, then they will lose sight of the lesson as well. The students will see the instructor is not prepped or ready and will in turn follow suite as well. The instructor needs to refocus and think what is important - the studnets. They must be ready to present information in fun way and keep their students motivated. We all need to step back sometimes and ask ourselves, as instructors, am I ready, am I prepared, and am I excited. Answering yes will say I am focused for my class - if not I need to get in line and refocus.
I like this idea. We always tend to look at the 10-15 minute attention span as a negative, but, as you suggest, this also gives the instructor opportunities. I'm not saying that the students will forget a bad ten minute stretch of class easily, but there's also no real reason for us to deliberately dwell on it or to continuously apologize for it. Move on, and make the next 15 minutes great.
Thanks.
I teach mainly Information Technology courses, and they tend to change about 10% every time that I teach them. It really is amazing to me that I can look back at lecture notes for a course that I taught ten years ago and realize that much of it is no longer taught anymore in the most recent version of these courses.
This has helped to help me refocus on the foundational knowledge and skills, the building blocks of our industry. I know that this knowledge and skill set will be needed by everyone today and in the far future. This simple understanding helped to recharge me. I was beginning to get somewhat discouraged with all the changes, second-guessing some of what I was teaching. And, with this, I started to lose some of my enthusiasm.
By refocusing, I rebuilt by own confidence, self-esteem, and enthusiasm. Every one of us has to do this periodically to remember why we are doing what we are doing and why we love it. The refocusing has helped me greatly, and it obviously helps my students.
Everyone has the tendency to fall into the 'robotic mode' of teaching. Although we are truly enthusiastic about our own experiences, work history and enjoy sharing that as part of our instruction, it nonetheless becomes mundane. A lot of the times we don't realize that we have begun teaching as if we were 'painting by numbers'.
As much as we take the position of keeping our students on track, we need to do the same for ourselves.
Numerous suggestions were made on the page relating to 'Effective Retention Strategies'. This should be considered for instructors as well.
When doing a reevaluation or assessment of ourselves relating to our instructional progress, we need to stay focused on our own goals as educators.
If we are not as motivated as we were in the beginning of the course, then we simply practice what we preach.
Define or redefine our own goals for our position and determine what path needs to be taken to be able to achieve them.
Keep ourselves on track. We expect it of our students. Refocus as we suggest they do. As indicated in earlier readings, they will mimic their instructors.
JFO
Charles,
Right you are. This is something all instructors need to guard against so they don't let down because if they do it is for sure the students will let down.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Instructors can get very tired and just do the status quo. I know this feeling and it hits about mid-course. So, instructors need to refocus in order to keep the students involved in the course. Otherwise, the students' motivation will just simply give out, and learning will cease.
