Hi Caron,
What do you typically do to reduce instructor anxiety? I go in thoroughly prepared and very confident.
Patricia
Hi Lori,
As the academic coordinator, I get stopped a million times before I get to class. Most instructors start to class 5 minutes in advanced. I start to class 10 minutes in advanced because I know 5 minutes will be lost due to people stopping me before I get to class.
Patricia
Hi Lauren,
You are right! It is a golden opportunity to be able to shadow an experienced instructor. The experienced instructor can really teach you the tricks of the trade.
Patricia
New instructor anxiety is normal. I had the opportunity to co-teach for a few weeks before I had my own class.This was very helpful. I also sat in on other classroom lectures. Again it was a great opportunity.I have a great supervisor who is available to me.
Hi Sheila,
Laughter is good for all. Students even tend to ease up whenever laughter is involved.
Patricia
Hi Graham,
Preparation is key and confidence comes right behind it!
Patricia
Being thoroughly prepared pretty much sums it up for me. As long as I enter my classroom confident about the information that I am about to deliver and have pre-determined questions that may arise, jitters usually subside quickly.
Making sure to be organized and prepared. I also like to have a little activity to start out with to break the ice. It doesn't take long for the class to get involved and laugh. Laughing and smiling helps me to reduce my anxiety.
I also find it very helpful to observe more experienced instructors in the classroom setting. If you are lucky enough to shadow a co-worker for a few weeks, take lots of notes and ask questions!
I find that not walking in at the last minute helps keep this down. The first few classes I taught it seemed that I got stopped by everyone on the way to the classroom. With this in mind I started going to the room a little earlier before classes started changing over. Our class was the first class in that room for the day so this worked well for me.
My first class I taught was one I took over half way in the quarter. The instructor's class that I took over was very seasoned and the students loved him.I also had him as an instructor when I was a student. Talk about nervous!! I tried to keep in mind what a wonderful mentor he was to me and the fact that he had equipped me with the tools I needed to do a great job. He still reminds me that I will not do everything just like he did because I'm not him and that the more experience I get the more comfortable I will become. I do have a passion for what I teach and I just want that to show in the classroom. I do find that as I start lecturing about what I love the anxiety seems to vanish and I no longer worry about being compared to him.
I keep my lecture notes organized in file folders by the day. Each morning I pull out the next days folder and read through it immediately after class. It gets me in the mindset of the next class while I am still fresh from the current lecture. Then of course I have my notes to refer during the lecture.
To get rid of pre-class nerves and anxiety I would first prepare the lecture in depth and write it down on paper. I would then practice the lecture by myself and when comfortable I would practice the lecture in front of a friend or family memeber to get constructive feedback from them.
I think that most cases of classroom anxiety stems from lack of preparation. Also, we teachers do enjoy our daily java, however the caffine jolt can sometimes add to an already anxious instructor.
making sure that you are well prepared and confident with the material you are teaching and with the lesson plan you have developed for your class.
Hi Beth,
Picking a seasoned insructor's brain or a guru instructor in the area can be extremely helpful. They can give you great points to reduce your stress/anxiety level.
Patricia
Hi Kelly,
I have found that once you warm up, the anxiety vanishes within a few minutes.
Patricia
I believe that most of the anxiety can be alleviated during the first day of class in the introductory time. If students know that they have an instructor that doesn't try to always outdue or berate them, then they are albe to be more relaxed throughout the learning process.
I see this alot, specially with newer instructors. I think that we should all coach each other a little. When I have to teach a class that I havent taught in a few terms, its nice to go to the past instructors to see what changes have been made (upgrades) and discuss any thing that may have been great, or not so great in the class. Its great to help prepare for the upcoming term.
I believe being prepared with the class material will help.
