experience
Do you feel an instructor has to have experience in the field they are teaching or not ?
I believe the answer to this question should be "yes." There may be times when a teacher is asked to teach in an area they know nothing about. In this case, it would probably be a good idea to gain some sort of experience quickly (if possible). Perhaps the only alternative is to follow a lesson plan/course curriculum carefully designed by someone who has had that experience.
I think students enrolled in voc/tech schools expect their teachers to be experienced in that particular field of study.
Hi Franklin,
Yes, I do. I have found that at the career college level where students are being trained to enter and succeed in a specific career field they need to have an instructor that has direct experience in the field. There is so much about a field that comes with direct experience and this needs to be shared with students.
Career training has to move from theory to practice and who better to help this along than an experienced instructor.
Gary
Most definitely. In rare circumstanced that I have to teach material that I have no experience I really struggle with it.
Franklin:
I think that generally the answer is yes, but I also believe that the answer really depends upon the field of study. There are clearly fields where an individual without direct experience could not provide quality instruction; this is particularly true in a technical/career school setting. In more academic fields of study, a good understanding of the historical and theoretical basis of the "subject", and/or a good understanding of related subject matter adequately equips an instructor.
Having experience in the subject is a must! How can you make it relevant to the students if you don't have personal experience. I use my experience as example to what works and what does not work. Telling the students anecdotes about your experience is entertaining and great learning for the students.
Hi Anne-Patricia,
It is amazing to me how students like to hear about their instructor's work history and/or experiences. They are training for a career field, but hearing some of the other aspects of their choosen area helps them to create a realistic picture of the field they are about to enter.
Gary
I've found that the first questions my students ask me are related to my experience in the field. They are curious,excited, and often want to know what is waiting for them outside the bubbleworld of academia.
Hi Jennifer,
It always amazes me that students don't seem to realize that their instructors are former children, students,and workers themselves. That they have lives with the same challenges that the students face. Once they realize that it seems to come together for them in terms of accepting the fact that you the instructor will be sharing your experience in the field with them in order to help them succeed once they graduate.
Gary
I really feel an instructor has to have experience in the field they are teaching. Its just like a mechanic. He can read books and take tests all day long,but untill he gets under the hood hands on he will not be complete. Its like a barber only cutting one ethnic group and thats it.
Hi Dupre,
I agree with you about instructors needing field experience. I feel we are all better prepared to be instructors by having made out living in our field of expertise. By combining the direct work experience with knowledge how to teach one is then prepared to enter the classroom and be successful.
Gary
Definably experience, I teaching technical/ career class. Mostly hand on training, my student get impress from my experience. They also come with challenge question and all news technology related to their Field. I often go to show, magazine source, manufacture educate to update. I have student has been graduated for years still come in back to me when they have some thing unclear.
It's called credibility. When working in a trade school environment, your students will quickly pick up on whether you have or have not any experience in your chosen field of instruction. Some may even have enough experience to be able to ask what may be difficult (or embarrassing) questions at points during your presentations. Texts only go so far here, no matter how accurate they may be. There is no substitue for "real life" at these exchanges.
Hi Steve,
Good comments. The fact that we (career college) instructors have made our living in the career area we are teaching means a lot. One of the things, I like is if my teaching job doesn't work out I know I can go out and earn a living with the skill sets that I have.
Also when you talk about a situation it is with knowledge that you share it. Key point as you mentioned.
Gary
I don't believe the instructor needs to be an expert,but need some knowledge on the subject before presenting information. I did not know much about 10 KEY and my students seem to think I'm the best instructor they have had for this subject.
There are alot of little tips, tricks, and things to look out for that experience brings to your lectures. If you don't have that experience to pass on to your students, you'r setting them up for failur. Now some times that can not be helped when you'r asked to cover a class, but then make shure the instructor knows what you covered with the class so that s/he can cover anything you might have missed
thanks
I strongly feel you need to know the subject matter to be able to properly teach it. How can questions be acuratly answered if the instuctor doesnt know the area. Experience will also allow an instuctor to warn of the right and wrong ways to accomplish a task.
I also say the answer is yes.When I first started teaching the first thing a student asked was have I ever done this before.Not only was I suprised at his question but the students next to him had the same concern.I asked why he asked me that. He stated he had a instructor that couldn't tell him much about the subject he taught other than what was on power point.He said he felt alittle cheated.He was right in my eyes he came here for an excellent education and was an intelligent man in the subject.Our obligation is education to students how can we teach a subject to it's fullest potential with out experiencing it first?
I think it is important to have field expereance.Students like to hear stories about an istructors experiences in the field.I teach electrical courses.To keep the students interested,I give them examples of how the course material applies to problems they will see in the field.
I feel that the more experties the better the coarse can be taught. A seemstress would have a hard time teaching automotive engineering.
