Human factor is very important. An easy way to "see" if it is important is to put yourself in your students place, or remember back when you were a student. If you were treated as a "number" this most likely was not a very positive impact on you, but if you were treated as a person, or better yet as an individual, you most like would have a greater connection to the instructor, and then would feel better about oneself and try hard to do well for both yourself and your instructor.
There is definitely a connection between the the human factor and customer focus. I know from my student evaluations that I do well in the customer focus areas. Students routinely say that they have learned alot, the class was very informative and I was a very good instructor and well prepared. However I have also had comments that I am to intense, lacks emotion, needs to lighten up. I know because of my personality that this is an area I will always have to work on. I have realized that there is more to education than transferring technical information and skills to the students. Now when I see a comments like "Had a lot of fun, really enjoyed the class" I know that I am headed in the right direction and more balanced.
I work with Information Technology Students who arrive at class self-motivated and focused to a degree. I find they are more attentive and also more demanding of the instructor who must focus and lead but, not dictate and lecture. The most challenging group to teach is the technically savvy who want to push the envelope and expand their knowledge and test the limits of mine.
Yes. You will be a more successful instructor if the human element between you and your student contains a strong dose of the human factor. This way the student sees that you really are interested in his education and well being.
Hi Errol,
I like this approach. It is a win win for everyone. Both the instructor and the students can see value from the effort that is being put forth to be successful in the class and in a career.
Gary
If we are talking about having students leave our class successfully, that is complete our course of instruction and the student be prepared for his or her chosen profession, then the human factor is a very important piece of the educational puzzel. The instructor who can bring education to his or her student (s) in such a manner that the student enjoys his or her experience and becomes successful in their chosen field of endevor will be the instructor who incoporates the human factor into his instructional manner and will be the more successful instructor, then their is a big connection between the human factor and instructor competency, he or she will be a winner and well as their students.
absolutely, you must be human in nature and firm and show students you care, not only about what you are teching them but even more so about their success in the future and their carreer. our world today is filled with negative and someone telling you ,you cant do it, some students have heard nothing but they cant do it all their lives. one of our jobs as teachers is to teach life and success and and that they can realize their dreams!!!
Hi Judith,
You are right about this being true in many settings. I like the fact that I get to teach classes that are no larger than 40 students. The college would like to have larger classes because it means they make more money but my room/lab has room for only 40 students legally. We have classes where there are 300 or more students that the human factor is completely lost in such settings. The enjoyable part of teaching for me is the relationships I get to develop with students as they progress through my courses. To take that away and reduce them to just numbers going through my course would take away the reason why I love teaching.
Gary
Hi Steve,
I hope I understand your question in relation to the student being the customer. I see the student as a customer in that he/she paid money to enroll in my class. That payment gives them access to my expertise, instructional abilities and course planning. As a customers I professionally need to provide them with content and competencies that will enable them to be competitive in the work place. Thus, my teaching has to be student centered. This does not mean that I reduce my standards or compromise my course requirements just because they paid money to take the course. If I do I believe that I am "cheating" my customer of what he/she paid for.
Hope that answers the question. If not please let me know and I will be glad to discuss it further.
Gary
My experience has a been that lately the human factor is really not consider in major universities, for example all institutions assign a student number to the student and many professors use the student number to identify the student, post grades and offer feedback. :-(
Hello Dr. Meers,
When your customer is also your student, do challenges, abilities, diversities and/or life experiences apply more to one or the other, or both, in your opinion?
Hi Steve,
I think there is a blend needed between the human factor and customer focus. The human factor reflects who the instructor is in relation to his/her personality and how they relate to students. The customer focus is how the instructor provides service to the students. Service means well planned lessons, timely feedback and consideration for individual needs.
Gary
