Thank you Lori
Would you please explain a little more about the "knowledge, skills, and aptitudes" you are seeking in instructors.
Lori Barnes wrote:
Answer: Knowledge, as far as knowledge is concerned i expect that all instructors working for us have at least 3 years training in a hospital setting, this helps because the nurse has been exposed to many different areas of medicine not just long term care and therfore is able to better guide and explain those who are seeking entry level positions into the medical field. Skills: the three years working in a hospital setting has changed a new grad or long term care nurse into a well established and routine caregiver who has been exposed to so many different problems faced in the patients that they care for that this also helps them to be a better instructor. Aptitude: as far as aptitude most nurses are teachers from the beginning, on a daily basis we are expected to teach competent patient care, train new staff/shadow and precept students who come on the floor so usualy that is not a area that in fear much in, those who are nurses and are not a natral teacher wouldnt make it past my doors those usually are the nurses who do not want to be botherd with and usually have distict nasty tones and attitudes. in all i look for the nurse who can deal with difficult students, keep me engaged with comical attitudes and the experience which is needed to help the new student go futher and suceed.
doing a good psychiatric eval, checking references by always contacting the human resourse dept and not supervisors checking academic backgrounds
I definitely agree with your comment Shanel regarding computer literacy. It is difficult to explain learning system functions and features to a candidate who is not at least moderately comfortable with computers. Lack of familiarity can slow down the process of preparing a new instructor to teach...especially when conducting the training by telephone.
The initial preparation phase can be enhanced by prior computer literacy and this allows more time to be spent on the schools environment, policies, and procedures.
At my online institution we have very rigid requirements that are dictated by our accrediting body.
Our requirements include a minimum of four years of on-the-job experience or 15 credit hours depending on the area of study to be managed.
We also prefer a Masters degree but require at least a degree that is equivalent to the level of class being taught.
A high level of computer proficiency and excellent written and verbal communication skills are also essential.
:-)
John, when looking for instructors for my department we also look for good communication, and computer skills. However, the minimum reqirements are a Masters Degree in Business, 4 years of business management experience, and one year of teaching experience.
Thanks for your response John.
Have you found personality testing helpful? If so, would you recommend it to other schools? Why?
We will accept instructors with basic skills necessary to teach online and we can develop others.
We seek specific knowledge with the course being taught with a minimum of 48 months using or managing that area of expertise. The skills we seek are good communication that includes verbal and written; discipline to interact with students regularly; good computer access using the Internet and Microsoft products; and personality that works well with students. The aptitude we look for is easily adaptable to constant change and an aptitude to learn new skills quickly. We ask all applicants to take a personality test and that is used to screen potential candidates.
The school at which I am employed, offers online courses as well. Therefore, I look for instructors that are competent with online technology. I would prefer to hire someone that is already familiar with a learning management system (LMS). However, these are skills that I am willing to develop.
Along with computer literacy, the courses that I hire for are general education courses. Therefore, I look for a variety of instructors. Years of experience is not mainly an issue. I look to hire instructors that are knowledgeable and educated in their prospective areas.
I will have to agree with you in that changing the metallity of those who teach in our institucion from their technical field to instructor is somewhat a challenge; however, I must say that we offer them a variety of training that are geared toward being an instructor. ALso, the fact that we are an accelerated bilingual school, we offer them training not only in how to be a successful instructor, but in how to take content and language into consideration when assessing our students. So, far we have heard very successful stories from our students and we are very please with the efforts we have placed on our instructors. We continue to generate more options.
Ricardo Ortolaza, Ed.D.
DIrector of Faculty and Curriculum
Hi John
Do you think instructors must come with this
skill set or will you accept some skills and
develop others?
My school offers online classes only, so the skills needed are very specific along with the aptitude to teach online courses. My program is Technology Management so the knowledge I look for is IT related, although one of the courses offered is the management of IT staff. So I do look for management methods they know.
The skills I look for are mostly dictated to by our accrediting organization, especially regarding actual months of experience in the technology field. They require more than 48 months of experience managing in a technology field.
The abilities that I look for are is if the instructor has kept up with changing technologies and is aware of new technologies. But the most important ability is to communicate with students through email, phone and online discussions, because we are an online college.
Cliff that is a fabulous process you have developed because:
1. You get the information you need to make an informed hiring decision.
2. You maintain the goodwill of the individual by paying them.
If possible, I would encourage others to try this.
Thank you for sharing.
Right on Jamie. Your statements echo what we look for. If I see a good resume or hear of a good artist, I will call them and ask if they would like to come in and give our students a demonstration and lecture on what they specialize in. We pay them for their time and this tells us if they have many of the requirements to be teaching in the area of study.
I have been able to quickly eliminate or hire based on the info gathered from this demo and still have good promotion of our school.
Cliff
Right on Jamie. Your statements echo what we look for. If I see a good resume or hear of a good artist, I will call them and ask if they would like to come in and give our students a demonstration and lecture on what they specialize in. We pay them for their time and this tells us if they have many of the requirements to be teaching in the area of study.
I have been able to quickly eliminate or hire based on the info gathered from this demo and still have good promotion of our school.
Cliff
Hi Jeff,
I like your college's creed. Constant improvement. Career colleges have to be current or they won't be in the instructional business very long.
I find that if I don't strive to be relevant and current in my field as well as my education delivery I can get bored and not reflect excitement about my field. If I am bored my students are bored. I want them to come to class excited about what they are going to learn that day. This is not always the case but I strive for it each day.
The instructors that don't want to stay current are going to find themselves frustrated and start to have classroom management issues. Students reflect the attitude of the instructor. I would hope they would change their minds and want to become current or leave the field.
Gary
My department does IT training, so our challenges are trying to keep up with that field. So our KSAOs are:
Knowledge
Understanding of certain software packages, industry terminology, and now most importantly a good grasp of IT methodologies involving business processes.
Skills
Our accrediting body requires 3 years real world experience in the particular area that our instructors will be teaching.
We as a career school also require teaching experience. Although we believe a talented individual can learn teaching skills, we are too small to invest that time in development.
Abilities
Most important is the ability to keep up with the changes in the industry. Our instructors spend about 25% of their time learning new products that have been released.
Some instructors do not like to have to constantly keep learning, or are not very good at learning.
Jeff
Excellent response Heather. Many of us have to start with instructors not trained in teaching techniques. It is essential that they be aware of and develop coping stategies for learninng differences with our students.
As you said, "We all can learn, but not the same way".
Being an accredited college, we must hire instructors with the appropriate educational background (degree) as well as licensure, certification and experience in the field. This requirement is the first “deal breaker†but certainly not the ONLY indicator of a good instructor.
Most of our instructors are not formally trained in teaching. Therefore, their abilities and other personal characteristics become very important when hiring and training.
We are always looking for that instructor who has a passion and excitement for their field of study and a desire to pass on that passion. That instructor must also posses the following: (1) a belief in education and that ALL students have the ability to learn; (2) an understanding that not ALL students learn the same way; (3) a willingness to teach the subject material in a variety of creative ways; (4) understand the importance of being a role model to their students; (5) the ability to connect, motivate, and “coachâ€; and (6) the belief that they are part of a team working toward the same goal - changing lives for the better!
Knowledge: Solid education background
Skills: I look at OJT
Aptitudes: I look closely at "life" and "Job" and "desires"
In deciding whom I hire, my college requires specific education, after they meet that I look at skills & aptitudes. If they are lacking but have desire I am willing to train and my instructors are willing to train for the benefit of our students. I often find people who have no teaching or little teaching experience become the best teachers. Many of these people, self included, were at point for a career change without "teaching" skills and were a "natural" at it.
