Wynell,
I believe we are in control of our class, so if students act up, it's our job to rein them in. If we don't then we are as accountable of the unsatisfactory behavior as they are. Being sincere, reasonable and patient usually conveys we are serious about instruction while at the same time being approachable.
Barry Westling
I know my strengths and weaknesses as an instructor. Knowing what those are keep me from looking less-than-professional to my students, because I can work on what I need to and give them my best. I am constantly working on myself; I have students fill out surveys at the end of the course so I can gauge my performance. Any weak areas are worked on for the next class.
ROBIN,
It's great when an instructor feels secure about where they shine, and what areas may need some work. Going into a classroom with confidence conveys that a competent instructor is present, and a reliable and effective lesson is in the offing.
Barry Westling
I enjoyed this section on finding yourself as an instructor. It gives great insights on the different styles of teaching and getting to know what style of instructor I am.
It also emphasized on the importance of 2 steps of teaching such as:
1. First off gain the respect of your students and that is by being prepared to teach which gives the students a secure feeling because they have an instructor ready and waiting to teach and help them grow in their new career choice.
2. The pedagogical step of how am I going
to get the hook, excitement, energy from my students regarding the information I will be teaching them and for them to retain it or leave that day with new knowledge.
I understand that everyday will present with new situations but that is what teaching is all about, CHANGE.
Virginia
Virginia,
Great observation and summary. These lessons are useful only to the degree that a participant is willing to apply the ideas and sentiments expressed in the modules and participant posts.
Barry Westling
I think it is crucial to understand yourself first before you can teach because it will make it easier for one to establish a teaching technique. How can we grow as teaching professionals when we don't learn from our personal areas of improvement? By knowing ourselves we can translate information to students much easier.
Sonia,
I agree. The more we have an understanding of our strengths, attributes, and weaker areas, the better we can assist our students from the foundation of what we know works. Also, if continuous improvement as an educator is sought, we have to be honest about what needs exist so that constructive efforts can occur.
Barry Westling
Understanding who I am and what i can bring to the class can play well on my strengths and knowing where I need to inprove will help me to become a stronger instructor
John,
I believe good instructors are willing to seek continuous improvement -- there is really never an end point. This is reinforced to me when I perform classroom observations and see the myriad of diversity in instructional delivery and activities. We should never stop learning.
Barry Westling
I am new to career college instructing but I do find that constantly putting myself in the students shoes does help in teaching the material because you have to be your own critic.
Kayla,
Good instructors often "consider their audience" when planning course material, among other considerations. Understanding our role and personality as it relates to assuring students are given all the opportunities to learn will provide a good foundation for planning classes.
Barry Westling
As an instructional leader you are in front of the class and all your attribues, as well as faults are on display. If by nature you are not a comical or jovial type, then don't try to bring that trait into the classroom. The best advice is to be yourself.
Joseph,
Right. We need to portray that we are genuine and sincere to be trusted and believable. Some artificial version of someone we are not will not achieve the hoped for outcome.
Barry Westling
I am always viewing myself as a Instructor sometimes I view to much. I feel you have to be able to understand how to express yourself and career at 100% if your not learning from you are your students learning from you? That's what I ask myself always.
Sherry,
Yes, we create ourselves, and also have the sole power to make changes. If we're honest with ourselves, the results of any changes will be evident to our students.
Barry Westling
It is essential that you tailor your teaching style to "fit" your students. It does not matter how good you think you are or how much you prepare for your class, if your students aren't getting anything out of it, you need to make changes.
Donna,
Very true. We need to be concerned with how we can be a tool to help students get from point A to point B. Getting students on the same page as the instructor can be both a challenge and a triumph.
Barry Westling
I think not only is it a good idea to know yourself as an instructor, but it is also useful for the class. I think back to when I was in college and compared different instructors to one another. In this module it talks a lot about different teaching technique, however it also discusses that even instructors are humans and make mistakes. I am a newer instructor so of course I will make mistakes. But the thing that I know about myself is that I can laugh it off. I may be a great technician (speaking directly to my field of study) however I am still human and I nothing is perfect.
Ali,
Great self appraisal! Regarding mistakes, it's not so much their occurence, but whether we learn from them to make us better at what we do.
Barry Westling
A quote from William Shakespeare sums it up, "To thine ownself be true". I must not only know my strengths and weaknesses as an instructional leader, but I must embrace who I am in order to utilize my strengths as an instructional leader and improve upon my weaknesses as an instructional leader.
