• Knowing you make a major difference
• Creating a more promising tomorrow
• Working with adults
• Helping learning take place
• Unforgettable moments
• Being in the presence of great company
• Every day use of your mind, heart, and soul
• Rewards that money can't purchase
• The light up of a student's face
• A great sense of accomplishment
• Shaping lives, dreams, and futures
• The adventure of each day
• The pride of being a role model
• Understanding the importance of your job, even on "bad" days

An effective way of helping students to develop their critical thinking skills is to have them work through case studies.  You can create case studies out of your own career experiences or by talking with other professionals in the field and see how they handled different situations or problems. You may want to create a file where you store examples and/or potential case study ideas for development later on.  You will be surprised at how quickly this file will fill up with topics that can be developed into case studies.

Make the case stuidy narrative brief and to the point. … >>>

Many career college provide a standardized curriculum to their instructors.  If you are teaching in one of those colleges you need to personalize the curricuulum so it will reflect your personality and experiences.  When you receive the curriculum look at how the topics are broken down.  Then go through each topic and think of an example of a work experience that you have had that would apply to the content.  Make a note in the margin of the currculum so you will be sure and remember to share the example or story when that topic is covered.  The more experience… >>>

A great resource to use are guest speakers.  As you were going through your childhood years when your teacher said there was a guest speaker coming remember how excited everyone was in the class.  Someone from outside of the classroom was coming to talk about something interesting and maybe they might have some pictures or objects to share during their presentation.  Well nothing has changed since your own school days.  Students still like hearing from individuals that are from their field. 

In all of the planning for course content and delivery it is easy to overlook the use of and… >>>

What world of teaching are you from? Is there a natural knack for the profession or have you had to work diligently at becoming an effective educator? I have met instructors from both worlds. I have met those who really have a natural knack for teaching, and I have encountered those who have worked really hard to learn the profession. Both sets make ideal instructors because with hard work you can accomplish anything you put your mind to and when teaching comes natural, it is just simply there, and you sparkle as an educator. To have a passion for teaching… >>>

As an instructor it is a good idea to know what services are available to your students.  By knowing what these services are and how they support students you will be able to more accurately focus on referring students when a need arises. 

Start with the admissions department.  How does admissions personnel work with potential students?  What do they tell them about the programs,  curriculum, instructors and support services?  By knowing this information you will know what the students know in relation to their entering the course either onsite or online.  This way you can target your conversations with the… >>>

In parts of the world that have extended winters with long days of darkness there is mood disorder that can cause major disruptions in daily lives and the ability to function successfully.  The condidtion is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).  Individiuals with SAD manifest characteristics of withdrawal, weight gain, excessive sleep, and difficulty in getting along with others.  They often appear depressed and lack the energy to perform many of their daily tasks.  Researchers have studied the condition and have created a number of treatments that seem to help the condition with the most effective being the coming of… >>>

Breaking content down into segments for instructional delivery is a challenge for instructors, especially those just starting their teaching careers.  A guide for how to break down instruction can be found in the age old question of "How do you eat an elephant?"  The answer is "One bite at a time."   If you take this common sense approach you will find that you will be able to break your content down into segments that make sense to students.  Many career colleges have their instructors follow a standardized curriculum where the lesson are laid out along with all of the PowerPoint… >>>

It has been said that you can tell a lot about a person when you observe them in handling different situations.  For example a test of one's patience and coping skills can be observed in how that individual handles rainy days, elderly people, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights.   Using this same idea of coping with challenges instructors face a variety of different and complex situations each time they teach.  When a challenge comes up instructors need to think about possible solutions in relation to how big the challenge is.  Students like to bring issues to instructors and see… >>>

A quote that offers advice to instructors goes as following: 

I take my students seriously.

I take my classes seriously.

I take my content seriously.

I take my preparation seriously.

But, most importantly I make sure not to take myself seriously.

We need to think about this quote as we approach our instructional preparation and delivery.  As professionals we need to make sure we are current with our content and well prepared with our delivery.  After that we need to think about how we are approaching our students with the "human factor".  We may be the first person in the… >>>

We all know the value of technology, but it can also work against us as instructors.  Technology has certainly  made the ability for students to cheat a lot easier.  The camera on cell phones are being used by students to take pictures of test/quiz answers, test/quiz questions, and test/quiz study notes to assist with test taking, thus allowing the students to ACE tests/quizzes.  The internet has caused a widespread of plagiarism on research papers, book reports, presentations, etc.  Technology can be a great educational tool as long as students look at it as a resource and not as a way… >>>

"A keen sense of humor helps to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and outlast the unbearable." 

This quote is one you as an instructor can reflect on as you are conducting your classes.  As a part of our human nature we like to laugh.  Laughter is good for both the body and mind as supported by numerous studies.  As you prepare your lesson plans look for places that you can use humor as a break in the flow in content delivery. With the interjection of humor you are letting the minds of your… >>>

Sometimes simple is just as effective as the complex.  With the increased use of technology in classrooms today there is  a resource that is available but often ignored and that is the black or whiteboard.  Most classrooms are outfitted with these boards, even the newer ones.  So if there is one in your classroom make use of it so you can save time getting the class started and ready for that day's content.  You can list announcements for the day or coming week.  This way you can refer to them but not have to spend time going over them unless… >>>

All instructors should have a professional development plan.  This plan will assist in the improvement and expansion of instructional planning and delivery.   Personal professional development plans can range from a few simple ideas that you want to explore to a complete formal plan with specific training and time-lines listed.  The formality of your plan may depend on your college and how it approaches professional development.  The way to go about  creating a plan for yourself is to identify what you perceive as your strength areas and how you want to expand or improve them.  For example you may want to… >>>

When starting out as a new instructor you may find yourself trying to be a clone of an instructor you had in your past educational experiences.  While this may on the surface seem like a good idea since he or she was a dynamic and effective educator it can lead to some challenges and missed educational opportunities.  You can only be who you are. Don't try to play a role that is not you.  Take stock of your attributes as well as your concern areas so you can have a picture of yourself as an instructor. While… >>>

Evaluating students is one of the hardest tasks that instructors face.  Instructors want to be fair, accurate and informative in their evaluation efforts.  This means they want to select assessments that give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skills.  One of those ways is to use a grading rubric to help students to see what they have accomplished and where they need to concentrate their efforts for improvement. 

The format for a grading rubric is to seperate the assignment or project into sections so the students can see exactly where they received or lost points within each section. … >>>

Do you consider yourself to be an instructor that is respected, an instructor that is liked, or both?  I consider myself to be an instructor that is well respected and well liked.  First and foremost, I would much rather be respected by students than liked by them because I am not in the profession to win a popularity contest.  I am in the profession to educate so that I can help change lives for the better.  It is great when both exist, but the more important of the two is RESPECT.

Different subject areas require different instructional deliveries.  To get you thinking about what delivery methods will work for your course reflect back on how you were taught.  Was the methods used by your instructors effective for you?  Were you able to grasp the concepts and develop the skills needed in a logical and progressive way?  Were there things you wish the instructor would have done to help you learn more effectively?  While thinking through the answers to these questions you might want to make a list of the methods that were used.

Talk with other faculty members about what methods… >>>

You need to be senstive to the dynamics of your class.  Each class is different based upon the students, course level and content.  To keep students engaged and focused on the class you need to "read" the students as they progress through the course.  By having general knowledge about your students you will be able to provide support and encouragement when needed.  About midway through the course when the students are wearing down and issues outside of the classroom start to press in on them is when discouragement most frequently occurs.

It is at this time they need to be… >>>

It has been said that no one can motivate you to do anything, you have to do it yourself. While this global statement is true in the broadest sense, an instructor can certainly create opportunities for students to motivate themselves as they move through their courses.

Humans need encouragement on a daily basis. We seek encouragement from a number of different sources (family, friends, peers, etc.). If we don’t get this encouragement we start to slow down in our progress towards whatever goal we are striving for. For example, think how many weight loss and exercise programs are out there… >>>