Preparation is key! I totally agree with the over-prepare for a lesson. In addition, keep notes on your lesson as to what worked and didn't! Tweak or eliminate what did not work for the next lesson on that subject. Finally keep a list of the common instructor mistakes with your lesson. This will remind you to avoid these pitfalls!
I always start my class on time. First day of clinicals set the rules and I set boundries with my students. I prepare myself for clinicals and have a set agenda and set time for lunch breaks.
Hi Molly,
Experience is certainly the best teacher! It is amazing what you can learn from a seasoned instructor; pick their brain. Most seasoned instructors are happy to share information.
Patricia Scales
Go to an experienced instructor and ask for advice. Observe his/her class for a time and learn from them.
Hi LAURENT,
I concur! It is good to show your students that you are friendly, approachable, and personable, but you must show professionalism with these characteristics, otherwise all respect/control will be lost.
Patricia Scales
be fair and keep your integrity at all time
you can be freindly to your students but you cannot be their freind or you will lose control of the class and their respect
Hi Diane,
Awesome list! I can tell you leady by example, and you are a great role model to your students.
Patricia Scales
Always be on time for your class.
Come to class with an agenda.
Look and act professional.
Always over prepare for the course.
Address student by there names.
Listen first.
Hi Kristine,
Great story to share, and it adds humor as well. I liked how you turned this mishap into a teachable momement.
Patricia Scales
i try to use my mistakes to my advantage.... example: I was eating a hershey kiss during lecture ( yes, i was talking with my mouth full!) the class i was teaching was on blood borne and airborne pathogens, and i sneezed! terrible.. instant embarrassment.... !!! quickly, i laughed it off... my arm and the dry erase board had chocolate "snot" all over it!!! i immediatedly told the students that this "VISIBLY" now showed how airborne pathogens can travel alot and a great distance outside the body just from my MISTAKE!! it is now a story the students pass to the underclassmen and everyone wants it repeated!!! EEWWWW seriously??? so what is my moral?? sometimes mistakes can turn into powerful teaching tools!! OH.... I have NEVER repeated this by the way!!
Jamie,
Wow! You do a fantastic job to ensure accuracy on your part! What a nice warm personable touch, the welcoming letter! Even adult learners like to feel special.
Patricia
Patricia Scales
I have a class routine and agenda that students can always count on. I check off agenda items as they are completed. I have my class roster before the first class and take time to check their records. This gives me some understanding of their past experiences and helps me make quicker connections to them. I spend a lot of time in preparation. My Power Point slides are posted prior to class and the chalkboard is complete with the agenda, talking points, and topics to most important to remember. I also post a welcoming letter before the first class to provide information about me, some things student can expect from the class and to relay my excitement about being their instructor.
Hi Ellis,
I agree! Teaching is an art that has no end to it. There is always room for improvement. Continue to want to better yourself.
Patricia Scales
Seeking input from other instructors, keeping track of "what did not work," and continuously being aware of the classroom environment and how to improve that environment works best. It is an ongoing and "neverending" endeavor.
I have seen the new instructor mistake of saying that this is the first class many times but also see that if the new instructor has confidence in his/her expertise and willingness to pass this to the career students in vocational colleges it
might not be a "train wreck". Well trained new instructors can bring excitement to a class while getting used to the realities of cassroom daily routines and management. Good orientation for instructors on the part of the college helps.
Hi Ian,
Way to go above and beyond in order to become better! Continue to pick your seasoned instructors brains, they can give you excellent pointers. I have known instructors to practice their lectures to seasoned instructors.
Patricia Scales
Hi Nancy,
I too was once new 23 years ago, and I can honestly say the more you teach, the better you become. You are going to be regarded as one of the best. Keep working hard.
Patricia Scales
I am still fairly new at this instructor thing and I knew when I started I would need some help with the lecture portions of my class so I asked around the campus and found out who was thought of as the most effective lecture instructors were and asked them if I couold sit in on their class and then later asked one of them if they wouldn't mind sitting in on one of my classes to get some feed back. Also I went onto the internet and found some lectures given by really great speakers even though it was not in my field I found them to be useful.
I am a brand new instructor and this is very helpful to me. I keep thinking I will become a pro at this over time but in all honesty I guess its a daily learning experience which is awesome with me.
My grandfather had a little stronger view...he said "the day you quit learning is the day you die". which is so true mentally and physically. I remind my students daily...we all have a goal and we need to reach it. Doesn't matter the lesson...what matters is we are growing!
