Brianne, as a career adviser your role is more similar to an instructor than you may think. Regardless of titles, the focus is to always lead by example, provide a positive message and take the time to know your students so you can use that knowledge to best address their needs. In your case you are focused on teaching them how to find and obtain a career focused position. The skills involved are identical to those of an instructor. Thanks for your efforts and all that you do and also thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Jason, one of the principle foundations of adult education is how adults come into the classroom with a wealth of experience and prior knowledge. The more we as instructors can get to know our students and directly relate our subject matter to their prior knowledge and experiences the better they will acquire the knowledge we wish to transfer. They also need to know they are in a safe environment for learning and they feel free to ask questions and learn from their peers. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
Debra, another issue to consider is personality traits. For some students they are natural extroverts and love the attention and the opportunity to show what they know. For others, the introverts, such attention can be debilitating regardless of how well prepared they may be or how well they know the subject matter. What actions do you take for your more introverted students so they too can show their maximum potential? Thanks for any feedback you can provide.
James Jackson
steve, well done and it is important to let students know that we as instructors learn from our mistakes as well. It is only human to make a mistake but it takes leadership and persistence to learn from our mistakes. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I teach a difficult clinical specialty. After graduation the students must complete a national (written board- 8 hours) and a regional (2 part practical board) exam successfully in order to become licensed to practice. Many students are intimidated by this prospect and their attitude may significantly impact their success or lack of.
As instructors, my colleagues and I, are constantly encouraging the students and reminding them of how far they've come. It's important to keep them focused and dealing in reality or they easily become overwhelmed and panic sets in. I truly enjoy when a student successfully completes an exam and says, "that was really easy" I love the reassurance that they are growing and learning to be discerning and think critically to apply their knowledge.
Katessa, great testament to transformational education. You are changing behaviors and beliefs which is one of the harder things to do in education. Another technique that has worked well is to ensure students understand the importance of your subject in their total earning potential after they graduate. Every job description I have read includes the necessity to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. Those that have the best mastery of written English tend to advance more often and to higher levels so by taking your class seriously your students greatly increase their lifetime earning potential. Just something to consider in your day one presentation for new groups of students.
James Jackson
I teach Ford factory training. When students reach us they have the basic knowledge. They do not have the experience to be able to give them the confidence they need. They are given a specific process on how to diagnose vehicle problems. They are than given the opportunity to individually diagnose numerous problems with vehicles. As they are able to apply what they have learned and actually correctly diagnose the different issues their confidence naturally builds.
I always like to let students know that we all have weakness and thet we all make mistakes and not get mad when they make a mistake.
i am a chef instructor, and when I teach culinary students how to do baking and pastry at first they do not want anything to do with baking becaause they are doubtful of the processes. although, when you present it to them and build their security,they actually start to enjoy it. it is when the self-doubt goes away ias when they can enjoy the new subject.
I have found it helps to let students know that I, too, had doubt in my abilities when I was a student. As a new Medical Assistant, I was in their shoes. I gained confidence as I learned each skill set and I really improved my confidence when I learned the language of medicine. I also find every opportunity I can to "catch them" doing something well so I can compliment them. We often are quick to tell a student when they didn't do a task correctly, but I like to be just as quick in letting them know when they did something right. For some of my students, my compliments are the only compliments they get.
I find it helpfull that when a student is doughting themself and second guseing themself over a test question,to share to them we all make mistakes and tell them to go with there gut feeling it might be correct and if its not then i explain it to them
I teach a medical assisting vocational curriculum. Most of my students are not academically savy nor have they had a lot of positive role models in their lives. As a result they have that "deer in the headlights" look from day one.
I work very hard to reinforce the idea that you can't get good at anything unless you are willing to make mistakes and put in the repetition to develop their skills.
I tell them that when I am a beginner I am always "pouting on the inside" because I want to be proficient from the start. I add that this is just not realistic for any of us.
I reasure them that I will provide the coaching they need to get where they want to go. They just need to trust the process and give it their best effort everyday. This seems to be effective the majority of the time. I also circle back to this point as they progress, acknowledging their growth to inspire their internal (intrinsic) motivation.
I guess this was more of a complilation of my experience and not really individual cases but it seemed the most efficient way to make my point.
It is a wonderful thing to see a student who has no self confidence become proficient at a task or theory that had seemed so difficult at the beginning of class. This is what really makes teaching worthwhile. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you have changed his life for ever. Now he can feed his family. Changing peoples lives is so rewarding.
I find that new students have considerable doubt but with a little understanding and "I was once in your shoes" talk helps. It lets them know that perferction is not expected but effort will pay off.
Had a student ready to drop out after doing poorly for the first few weeks of class. He was just not getting the material. Helped him with some studie technigues. Then helped him with some tutoring that gave him better understanding and confidence to continue.
One of the toughest things for me is questioning individuals, if seems to put them on the spot, they tend to pull back into their shell. the idea of questioning in pairs and letting them dicuss their resopnse seems like a great idea, I've started trying it with promising results. I've thought about putting the questions out to the whole class in two or three person teams, then opening it up to open dicussion, though, I want individual responses so I can gauge individual understanding. Any thoughts?
I teach a subject that many people avoid as often as possible. When students enter my classroom on day they express how they "hate" Engligh. It is unfortunate that so many students have a stigma when it comes to this subject. However, on the first day I attempt to set the tone and make the environment one that is not threatening. Of course the students do not trust me in the beginning, but I make an effort to have each of them to start their trust (student-teacher) relationship by week three.
Typically, the first exam that students submit is graded hard. This could be could and could also pose as an indicator for myself and the students on their strengths and weaknesses. By the end of the quarter 95% of my students are able to recognize, understand, and own their growth.
Overall, the results and satisfaction that the students receive and that I receive as an instructor is great.
i like to share with the students that everyone was a studentd at least once and that most of us go thru the same feelings. I also share with them my mistakes and how much more i learned and getting it right the next time.
Caroline, great point. Even though we may teach the same subject over and over again, for each new group of students it is their first time with the subject matter so we need to keep the information fresh and engaging. This is why it is critical that we continually find new ways to introduce various topics, as we keep things fresh in our own minds and find new ways to deliver the lesson plans, our students benefit because they can experience our excitement and energy versus noticing we are just delivering the same things over and over again.
James Jackson
RoQuanda, what are some of the techniques you use to assist students in overcoming their own self doubts? Thanks for anything you can share.
James Jackson
