Get Your Students Hired
Other instructors' personalities can affect us and our perceptions of our students that they have had before, and effect our teaching styles as well. We must guard against both.
Hi Edward:
You've demonstrated a good perspective for instructors who wish their students to do their best. That is, its going to require a bit of sustained hard work on the part of the insrtuctor - something I think not all insrtuctors are willing to consistently give.
Regards, Barry
After reading your comment I realize that I make aperformance out of every class I teach. Sometimes it's dramatic, sometimes it has humor. Every day I have this memorized script of what I'm going to do that day. Each class is different so I have to leave room to improvise with the lesson. Often I feel very exhausted after teaching certain classes because sometimes there is just no easy way to teach it.
Hi Tim,
As an instructor in training I've been able to observe how other instructors use your advise and get great results.
Dr. Harris-Ray:
Yes, especially in health oriented careers, students will usually be very open to stories and situations they find themselves in their careers. Teachers usually don't have to work very hard to get and keep the students attention when these opportunities present themselves. If we get their attention we have a created a better leraning environment.
Regards, Barry
It does play an important role. As a "fairly young" instructor who actually practices in the real world in addition to teach, I feel students cling more closely to what I say. I feel they relate to my stories of my every day eventa and how they will fit into it once they graduate. (fit into the health care fit).
Hi Tim:
It's true, the yonger generation tends to approach education differently than older learners.
One might ask themselves what constitutes entertainment? Somewhere in there is going to be an element of something that has captured their attention. So I would agree that merging an active, animated presentation with course goals and learening outcomes will always be beneficial with younger learners. The students and teacher might not think of it as entertainment, but the end result is that the students have been engaged.
Regards, Barry
I had an Instructor that was having class control issues. I gave him some tips on interjecting some humor into his class. I suggested he have some fun with it. He said that he had the personality of a "stump". He said he couldn't even keep his own kids at home on task.
He did not last long as an instructor. The young adults of today (18-21) need to be entertained. We as educators, need to learn how to use that need to our advantage. It does'nt need to be silly activities, you just need to come up with ways of presenting the information in new ways that get the student involved and have fun learning.
Hi Dave:
Yes, it is interesting. Our relationship with the student is that of instructor, facilitator, mentor, and similar adjectives.
Perhaps some students feel more comfortable discussing non-course topics because it is safe ground that won't have to be critiqued or graded. A great tool would be to create that same feeling among students in the classroom. Is that possible?
Yes! When students sense you care, you'll get their attention. Relating to them at their level helps too.
Regards, Barry Westling
Funny how the students will look up to you in facets other than instructor and listen intently when you speak. But when you are delivering a lecture they sometimes choose not to.
Hello George and Brian:
You are very correct. In many instances the student will look to their instructor for guidance well beyond that of facilitator of their course.
This underscores the importance of being a role model in every detail. When we keep the students interests as our main focus, they're going to pick up on this and respond favorably.
Good point and observation!
Regards, Barry