Common Instructor Mistakes
class prep and not trying to coverup my obvious screwups. students will see right through.
Yes, I enjoyed the concept of moving from quadrant four to quadrant two. When I was in the military, we called the crawl, walk, run approach to the band of excellence.
I think that it is helpful to have frequent formal and informal focus groups from the students. At the end of the class ask what went well, or what they feel they understand based on the lecture or class activities. And ask what topic they need more information in order to grasp. This is a great way to assess the effectiveness of the class rather than assuming all the students understood what was presented.
Be willing to put pride aside and ask other instructors for help. The Harvard lectures were particularly interesting because of the problems addressed and the variety offered.
You need to be prepared, organized, and professionally dressed. Do not be afraid to ask hep from experience instructors. Remember you are the instructor and not the student buddies. Make sure you set the rules and the tone of your class.
Hi Billie,
I can tell you give your students your all. Continue to be an effective instructor, by improving in those areas that may be a little lacking.
Patricia Scales
Put yourself in student shoes. Make the course relevant to their goals. REspect their time and organize your course ahead of time. Make sure goals are clear and outline how students will achieve them. Smile! Look professional. Journal after each class and note what was successful and what needs improvement.
finishing the course within deadline.
prepare the course and break it down with everyday list. complete each day work.If unfinished next day finish that unfinished part before begining the new one.
One of the best ways to avoid making mistakes is to be prepared for the class you are about to teach. Be prepared for the lectures and have enough planned for the lecture. Another important way to avoid mistakes is to be organized.
Yes, I have had brand new students, out of school for many years, and their first day can be horrific for them.
I many times will also sit with them while reading over the syllabus, and first assignment. Then I many times will show them how to answer a question logically with five points.
Then I give them an assigment, and show them how they might answer a primary question. We do it as a class. Seems to ease the stress. Also, buiids some friendships.
This is a good Topic, and I would like to added based on my past experienced. I can related this situation of receiving an assignment and the texbook the first day to started teaching. I was not familiar with the syllabus, neither with the textbook. It was very scary and at the same time challenging.
My first day strategies was
1. Each students present they self and elaborate about the skills levels of the material. This was a hints for me to collect more information how I could present my material.
2. Ask them for what they expected to learn on the course.
3. After receiving they input, took a short break, and I started to revised the syllabus and the first chapters to be covers.
After break time, I felt more comfortable to start leading the class.
Hi Mark,
We must lead by example. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes. Own up to the mistakes and move forward.
Patricia
I agree if a student see's you own up to a mistake they will have more respect for you and in turn it will help them own up to ttheir mistakes
Hi Amy,
Simple, if we mess up, we fess up. Taking responsibility for your own actions is something that a lot of people struggle with. Accept the mistake and move forward, and try to not let it happen again.
Patricia
Hi Kimberly,
Thank you for not arguing with students. We should not have to argue with students. It is unprofessional to do so, especially in front of others. We must remember to handle all situations tactfully. You are right, students look up to us as their role models.
Patricia
A common mistake I noticed i don't argue with the students in front of the class or at all. It make the instructor loose respect from the rest of the students if they let their guards down. remember the students are looking at you as a leader, a role model
I agree with admitting your mistakes. Taking responsibility for mistakes is a valuable lesson for students to see - especially when authority figures model it.
Hi Cheryl,
We all have made our share of mistakes. Continue to strive to do your very best. Please remember, you get from your students what you expect. If you set high expectations, your students will rise to the bar...trust me, I've been teaching for 21 years. Work on setting high expectations, you will be amazed the quality of work your students will produce.
Patricia
Ok, I will work on the name thing. I am usually so busy thinking about everything else, I forget the student's names. I've tried name tags, I've tried putting their names on cards in front of them, I've tried envisioning them. I guess I'm just going to have to find something that works and focus on that.
Over the years, I think I have made every mistake mentioned. I tend to want students to like me so I can be seen as too easy. I've been working on setting expectations and limits and sticking to it.
Overall, I enjoy teaching and find that I learn something new every class.
Hi Quintin,
An instructor should never make it known to students that it is their first time teaching a particular course. This type of known information causes students to scrutnize the instructor. Act as though you are a guru in the subject area.
Patricia
