Enjoying the Role of Guide, but still tested by students
I find myself as a "guide" in the teaching environment. I enjoy seeing the "light turn on" when a student understands and can execute a new concept.
However, there are some students who are be "the bad apple" that can spoil an entire class. Often disciplining that student can turn the whole class against the instructor. I have found that establishing a new relationship with a class is necessary, especially when beginning work with a class that has been exclusively with another instructor....clean up work maybe?
Any comments and suggestions to win over a "spoiled" class are welcome. I have found useful techniques, such as individual attention, personal interaction during tasks, and inclusive group lessons and activities.
John, you make a great point and some styles do have limitations with respect to time. It is also good you seem open to try new things. The important thing is to always be innovative and try new things to keep what works and move forward from those that do not work. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I feel I fall in with a major in Guide but a minnor in Controller. I feel I must use both styles to work with the students I have. I get a new set of students every 3 weeks (18-30) I must be able to adapt to the class I have at the time. Of course I want to be the guide type but there are classes that the controller works better. Only having 3 weeks to work with these young people I must uses what has worked for me in the past. I do have a little to try new styles but very limited time.
Jan, excellent point. It also allows your students to see you are human and are always working to improve. You are leading by example and this can be really hard for many instructors that feel they must be perfect at all times. We all learn daily and learn great lessons from our students. Thanks again for sharing Jan.
James Jackson
James,
I like your advice. I have had candid discussions with my classes and even asked them how I may improve as an instructor. Letting the students know that I am open to constructive criticism as well helps build repor for when I have to give constuctive feedback.
Jan
I have a general mix of 18-25 year olds and 35-45 year old students. Generally speaking the younger students still act like "High schoolish" . I have to work on Body language specifically facial expressions when theses students act up and I lean towards the Disciplinarian style with the class at this time.
Patty, what a great story and one that requires a great deal of self-confidence to share. Everyone who is new to teaching should read this post and gain insight with respect to dedication and perseverance. We all have environments or situations that either fill our life funnels or drain our batteries. Educators get their funnels filled by engaging in the tasks associated with teaching and learning while others can be drained by these situations. Thanks again for sharing your story and I am confident others will gain value from reading.
James Jackson
It takes time, time and more time. I remember so distinctly my first night as a new instructor - it was overwhelming and I was sure it was my first night and my last! The class I walked into had experienced 3 different instructors in approximately 6 weeks and to say they were angry and controlling was an understatement. Months later they confessed that their goal was to see how long it would take for me to run for the hills as well. 10 years later I am still teaching and loving every minute of it, but that first night and weeks of subsequent nights were difficult to say the least. I must admit that I did not handle the leader of the class very diplomatically, but in the end it all worked out and I definitely let the entire class know what my expectations were going to be.
One young lady protested a grade I gave her on a quiz stating that she was an "A" student. My response was "Obviously not" and the war was on. The situation escalated until I said that they could all sit down, shutup and learn from me or they could leave. Three students immediately exited and I saw the end of my teaching career looming; however, they went out, cooled off and returned and all three wound up being "A" students and they earned those "A's" and were very proud of themselves for doing so.
It was a very rocky start and my classroom management skills left a lot to be desired. I would not recommend anyone do what I did and I have learned much over the years. Primarily, I have learned that no matter what you must preserve your student's dignity.
Judith, you may already be doing this but I will state it here anyway - there is nothing wrong with repetition and it is good to let your students know in advance it is by design. In fact, they really need to be focusing their notes on the items you repeat the most as they will most likely carry more weight on assessments. Be up front with your students as to your delivery methodology and explain why things are as they are. You may be surprised how many students just did not know about the science that goes into a lesson plan and a curriculum.
Regards,
James Jackson
sometimes yr new student group has already suffered from a previous instructor who failed to deal with an individual or small group from that class that had been persistently disruptive in the previous class. Then the group wants you, as the new instructor, to stop the behavior, but tend to press too much for swift punishment before the behaviors have much manifested themselves in yr class! Sometimes the students seem to be egging me on to overreact based on their being tired of the repetitive disruptions.
Hello!!! I work in a school in a bad section of town with "bad" students. i find that engagement, engagement, and more engagement works. This means having a lot of back up plans and most importantly reading non-verbal behavior; dissruptive behavior starts non-verbally. I use phrases like, "I need each person to come back, we are all professionals" I dismiss a bad student immediately and direct the class to do workbook while I take dissruptive student to program director (PD).
Be pro-active in your class; state the rules and privately hand the "bad" student a write-up on his/her behavior in a "positive way."
Thanks,
Doreen
Neal, you bring forward a critical topic. Regaining trust and the attention of a class gone bad can be tricky. One method that has worked well for me is to just be honest and have some actual discourse with your students. Dedicate a class session to having some candid discussions and get them to focus on the real task at hand, learning the subject material. Take ownership if necessary of doing things differently knowing what you know now. Accepting some blame for the reason a class went in a bad direction or a discipline action was taken from the wrong perception by the other students can go a long way in mending broken relationships and just getting things back on track. Be humble and take the approach of servant leadership and you will almost never go wrong.
Regards,
James Jackson
