We all need to grow, as people and as instructors.  When we grow as instructors we become better able to instruct our charges.  As we grow, our students respect us more, and for me, that makes me want to keep on growing.  As we grow, we can better think outside of the box and incorporate new ideas into our classes, in effect spicing them up and making them more interesting.

Professional development needs to be a constant in the life of an instructor.  Each time you teach a course you can jot down some notes on how the course went and what you could to do expand the content, change the delivery, or increase student engagement.  Then when you are preparing to teach the course again you can review the notes, fire up your creativity and prepare to make the course even better. 

In the meantime you need to have a plan set up for yourself to expand your knowledge and expertise as an educator.  In this plan you can… >>>

Most human beings like routine as well as variety.  They like to park in the same place, sit with the same people, travel the same routes, and organize their life in a pattern.  In the meantime they talk about and often seek variety to break up the routines of their lives.  This creates a balancing act for instructors.  They need to establish a routine for getting classes started yet provide instructional variety to keep students engaged.

One way is to establish a set routine for starting each class.  This way the students will get settled into their seats or lab… >>>

When starting a new course take time the first class meeting to get the students settled into the procedures that will be followed.  By sharing the operating format and giving examples the students will be able to see how you are going to operate the class as well as see how they are going to fit into it.  Consistency is a must so by establishing a routine for starting each class you set the stage for getting into the content or lab working effectively and efficiently.

Make sure to spend some time talking with the students and establishing rapport with… >>>

As instructors, we must treat every student the same.  Once a student realizes, he or she is being treated differently, the instructor will be labeled as having favorites.  Students frown upon favoritism. Remember, every student is important and should be treated as such.  No one student is any more important than the other.

Using a survey composed of a serious of questions about the course content at the beginning of the course can be a valuable instructional planning aid.  By knowing the knowledge and/or skill sets that the students are bringing into the course you will be able to "customize" you instruction to more accurately target their learning.  Content serveys can give a picture of the understanding your students have about the course you teach and how they are going to fit within that course.  Also, it lets you see their communication abilities, another valuable insight to have as you plan the selection… >>>

Student feedback can be a very valuable instructional improvement tool.  Often student feedback is given at the end of the course in the form of a standardized evaluation.  There are a set of questions that cover the range from the classroom/lab environment to how the students perceive the instructor and his/her ability to communicate with students.  While these evaluations have some benefit they occur at the end of the course when nothing can be done to adjust the instruction during the current course.  Another way to use student feedback is to get input from students throughout the course. 

After an… >>>

Students select a career area and then enroll in a career college to receive the education they need to enter their chosen field.  They base their selection on a variety of factors, such as personal interest, family support, employment opportunities, economic need and actual experience in that field.  What ever the reason they have made progress in their career development as evidenced by their enrollment in a preparation program.  The challenge comes when they start to lose sight of why they enrolled in the program in the first place.  This is not uncommon so periodically throughout their educational careers they… >>>

It is important to get backing from higher authority in the education arena.  Whenever you know that administration will back you, you feel more at ease.  As long as you do what is ethical and you enforce rules, policies, and procedures, I am sure you will get the appropriate backing from administration.  As the Director of Education, I always support my instructors in front of students.  If an instructor does something that is inappropriate, I never address the instructor in front of the student.  I get with the instructor privately to tell the instructor how the situation should have been… >>>

Questioning as a teaching technique has been around since the beginning of time.  Early education was composed of questioning because survival was based upon asking questions and developing answers.  Questions like "How far will a spear fly?" is a good question to ask when hunting an animal that sees you as a part of the food chain.  Answers were developed to this question and improvements were made on the spear to the point that the spear became an arrow and the safety range was extended.  Then along came gun powder, bullets and other methods of keeping out of harms way… >>>

After teaching the same set of courses for a number of sessions an instructor can become bored with both the content and the dlelivery methods.  This is the time to stop and think about introducing something new to the class format.  Look at your lesson plans and select one topic that you are going to try a new method with.  If you have always lectured over the content think about how you might deliver the content differently.  Would it work to have the students make presentations, would learning groups, case studies, etc. provide the same learning opportunities?  Select the method… >>>

A strategy that can be of great help to you as you strive to improve your instructional delivery expertise is to take notes after you complete a class session.  Many instructors have their lesson plans in notbook binders so they can easily pull out the lesson plans for that session and have them available to work through during class.  When you teach a class be it lecture, demonstration or a combination of the two you have a feeling for how it went.  You know the success points and the areas where you need to make some improvements, add materials or… >>>

Students are not the only people who will do things to be labeled as one of the favorites.  Some instructors will go to great lengths so that they are thought of as being the favorite instructor.  Are you one of those instructors that will bend policies, give easy tests, do not assign homework, dismiss class early, allow students to be out of control in the classroom, allow students to get off of course topic and talk about personal issues, go to the students level, etc. so that your students will love you?  I am the type of instructor that will… >>>

Rapport is defined in a number of different ways depending on the setting and relationship being developed.  In teaching you want to earn the respect of your students as quickly as possible.  Once you have earned their respect you have set the stage for the next step and that is rapport.  As the students come into your class they are at some point in their career development, some will be just starting and others completing their last courses.  As a result of where you are in the teaching sequence you will develop different levels of rapport with your students.  If… >>>

Educators today are always on the search for an additional teaching tool, strategy or method that will enhance the learning of their students.  They attend professional development seminars, read journals and confer with other educators about how they can expand their expertise in learning effectiveness.  While this are great ways to develop skill as an educator there is one element in teaching that needs to be worked on each time a class session is held and that is respect. 

Respect needs to be a two exchange.  Both the instructor and the students need to each other's respect.  Respect cannot be… >>>

In the work world we all have to learn how to work with others.  Different positions require different levels of interaction with co-workers but no matter the intensity interaction does occur.  Our students need to learn how to work with others in their classes as they prepare to enter the work world.  The more opportunities we can provide them to work with others the greater service we are offering them in terms of both personal and professional growth.

Putting students into groups is a good way to help them develop skills in working others.  Assigning the groups case studies and/or… >>>

The students we have come from a veriety of background, career oriented shool is not a  'typical' seanse college.  Teacher need more patient, and a flexible teaching method to accomendate them.

We all like to know results quickly, be they sports scores, medical reports or course grades.  With technology being what it is today is seems in many cases we know results before the event happened.  Our students are entering our classrooms with such technology supporting them so instant becomes a standard rather than an option.

To keep pace with this trend and to keep your students informed of their progress in the course attempt to return scored assignments, quizzes and projects at the next class meeting.  If this isn't possible then set a specific date when the work will be… >>>

A common success factor for people in the work place is the ability to solve problems.  The buik of the employment opportunities revolve around solving problems for customers.  As you organize your course content try to include as many opportunities as you can for the students to develop problem solving skills.  After you have given them the needed content for their field provide them with experiences that will enable them to make application of that content.  Knowing the six steps to trouble shooting an equipment problem is one thing, applying those six steps is another.  Also, those six steps may… >>>

In the 19+ years of teaching, I have come up with some methods for motivating students. Students like to talk, and by asking them questions they have the opportunity to share their ideas and thoughts. I also put stars on my presentations to signify this is what they need to study for the test.

In additon, I have observed that some students learn by lecture and some learn by completing task, so I implement both of these every class period. After the presentation lecture, I give them a task to complete using the techniques they have learned.

A review game… >>>