A experienced instructor can loose their edge
I have been a teacher for over 10 years and the most common problem I findnwith experienced teachers is thatnthey become complacent. Teaching can become routine over the years, but the instructor can not loose that edge. You must always find a new twist to your presentation to keep it fresh.
Good point. Keeping it fresh and changing it up also help me stay engaged and energetic because it's still somewhat new and interesting for me as well. Otherwise I feel like every day is deja vu and I'm on autopilot.
After several years of teaching I had developed very efficient methods of teaching my classes. I was extremely good at what I did and could very quickly get my students to understand things properly. I fell into a complacency issue though. I believed that I was so good at teaching that if a student did not understand things from the get go, then they were a lost cause.
It took a while after that to really find the right balance. I am still a very efficient instructor, but I am no longer stuck with my methods. I can recognize that though my methods work very well for most, some students need something different.
Try to never let yourself get stuck with certain teaching styles, even if they work spectacularly for most students. Be open to adapting and you will do your students a much better service.
Hi Francis,
If you ever feel you are loosing your edge seek professional support and even evaluate yourself to determine if you really need to change career paths.
Patricia Scales
There may be organizations out there to help support teachers that may be losing their edge, but the problem is only those professionals that recognize they are losing their edge join those organizations. The problem is with the instructor that s happy with the status quo. They hurt this profession and it doesn't appear that anything is being done to identify this group.
I have found that most professional organization have a division devoted to educators in that field. Attending meetings and reading the journals/blogs of the educator's group gives me good new ideas to implement and keeps me motivated to keep learning. It is also very supportive to read that other instructors are encountering many of the same challenges are you.
By being in the field and teaching for several years you must make an effort to be on top of new and old information. Encourage yourself not to become a fossil and to learn and understand what is happening in your field. Your curosity makes your goal of teaching exciting and not boring. You can become a historian and explain the changes in technology, the develpment of science etc. and show or explain how this has positive effects on you,on the client and on mankind. The knowledge and learning you continue to expand helps keep you an expert, helps you maintain the love of teaching and above all helps you help both the student and the clients.
I really enjoy delivering a class I have previously taught, but vary the delivery based on the dynamics of each group. When I close out a course at the end of a term I record notes on what worked well, and things to alter for the next delivery. This allows me to easily restructure the lecture format for a better delivery each time.
I never repeat a project verbatim. Each term, I use the same instructions but I change the project to something that meets the latest trends in the industry or that give a different perspective on the subject matter. Since I am a student of my industry, I give myself another reason to stay on top of what's happening in my field of endeavor (I'm an adjunct instructor) and then pass it along to my students.
In classes I have taught over and over again I try to freshen it up each time. I still teach the same material or have the same end result but by using different methods I keep it fresh for me so therefore it is fresh to each new set of students.
