Aside from all of the obvious ways to do this, I try to look for an opportunity to not know something. This establishes my intellectual honesty, I believe, and models for my students that learning is a lifelong endeavor.
I agree that instructors should set the example in dress and all actions.
Make sure you are always in "professional mode" when you are in the presence of students, in or out of the classroom, never use foul language, always dress and act professional and you will earn the respect of being the professional you are.
Hi Meghan,
I agree! I can tell you do a fine job with leading by example. Continue to be a super role model for your students.
Patricia Scales
I echo many of the previous responses regarding professionalism, dress and being a role model for students. If I expect them to follow the rules then I need to respectfully follow them as well.
As I learn to build rapport with students I find that it is a continual balancing act to be engaging, meet students where they are, build respect, give appropriate care & encouragement, and maintain the leadership role as the facilitator and guide.
Creating a positive image also means keeping negative comments and complaints out of the learning environment. Students can loose respect for the school, staff or the teacher if you focus on the negative and complain about the problems you see in the system. You can set an example of being respectful towards others.
it is good to explain your past experiences to your students as long as they relate to what you are teaching
Present an image that your students can expect to see once they enter into the professional arena.
You can create a positive instructor image by always making sure you take the high road in the way you dress, talk and overall present yourself. You never go in and talk about your personally life or what you have going on.
It comes back to respect. If the students respect you they are capable of learning from you. You earn respect by showing respesct, from day one in the classroom. This hleps your image as someone who teaches and cares aboyut thier students, which is vital for success.
One of the best steps to create a positive instructor image is to be yourself. Too often I have seen other instructors start off acting very stringent and tough, only to get half way through a class and show they are not that person at all. Habitual practice of good instructing techniques combined with the instructor's natural personality make it easier for the students to link to their instructor and provide a realistic image to the students. Basically, take the job seriously while still being yourself.
Steps I can take to create a positive instructor image is to present myself in a professional manner, whether it be through dress or demeanor. Furthermore, I need to act like a mentor and friend to the student. This means that I am more personable to the students and they feel more comfortable approaching with any questions and concerns. I must make sure that I do not appear intimidating so that students are not afraid to approach me and ask questions. By creating a positive instructor image I am able to help create a positive learning environment for the student.
Positive image is very important, let's not forget watching our language and holding the lines between caring about our students and becoming friends with them. We are the professionals and should model how to care without creating a relationship that doesn't really exists. That is a skill any ancillary healthcare professional will need.
In my experience, students are in your classroom because they perceive a value in being there toward their ultimate career / education goals. In conveying past experience (professional as well as academic), an instructor delivers the content necessary to address that initial student perception.
In order to avoid appearing self-inflated or to be bragging, I think it also important to share with students where you (the instructor) started from, what you were thinking when you sat in their seats, and how through hard work and application of talent and learned skills, the students could stand before a group sometime in the future and describe a background as successful, rich and rewarding as the instructor's, if not surpassing it.
Set the example for the students, i notice if im positive towards the students then they will not feel intimitated and ask questions.
I think of most importance is to model for your students what your expectations are, you enthusiam and passion for the field, and your respect of persons as individuals.
We are there window. The we dress, behave, react, and deal with situations, should model the expectations.
Hollywood has given us some tough role models to live up to. Depending on their age, they may compare us (sometimes without realizing it!) to Mr. Chips, Thackeray from 'To Sir, With Love,' John Keating ('Dead Poets'), Mr. Feeny from 'Boy Meets World,' or any other of the many "inspirational teacher" movies/shows (a genre which ironically I despise very much).
It may not be possible, or even very wise, to try to live up to those standards or to adopt their methods. It may have worked for Mark Harmon in 'Summer School,' but I don't think I'll ask a homeless female student to live with me or teach another to drive (although I admit I have eaten peanut butter directly out of the jar with my finger).
But we do know that our responsibilities do not begin and end at the classroom door or even in the parking lot of the campus. We must model and provide, as best we can, in spirit if not specifically, the very best that students expect from their teachers, whether those expectations have been created by Hollywood or by their previous teachers and mentors. And we must avoid the very worst of the same. We must teach, and we must correct; we must discipline, and we must tolerate; we must break existing molds, and we must create new ones; we must maintain our distance, and yet we must care.
I know that my students will remember me for many years. They're not children whose memories of early childhood will fade.
The question I ask myself every day is, how do I want them to remember me? When they start tracing the role of their education in their lives and careers, how do I want to appear in that story? When they tell those stories to their co-workers and family and friends, what stories do I want them to tell about me?
The steps I feel are necessary to have a positive image are definitely being prepared . Look organized and eye contact. Also making rules and expectations very clear to students.
Hi Tania,
I concur! We should be the professional that we want our students to become!
Patricia Scales
Lead by example, and take the time one when necessary with individual students. I realize it is a different world to these students than the one I grew up in, so I try to help them navigate by relating my experiences with something more recent or closwer to home for them.
