You want to make sure your not the broken record to your students, and make sure you are up to date in your lectures.
Repeating your main points on teaching will help students to retain and enjoy what is being taught.
I have found that both I and the students begin to "grind it out" halfway through the course. I will save several instructional techniques for the halfway point. These techniques may include use of videos or bringing in a guest lecturer.
Its not difficult for the instructor to get burned out with the day after day dealings with the same students, changes or more work added on by the institution. I sometimes just sit back take a deep breath and re-evaluate what I want to do and that is to teach. I just tell myself that no one is going to be better than I am and if I want to be the best then I better just get pumped up and get my ass in gear, go out and hit it head on.
DANIEL,
I hear you loud and clear. I am currently teaching five sections of the same course with large student enrollments. I try to make it each a little different than the others so I stay fresh in my presentation and excited about what I am teaching.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I will do some new refocus tech.
have a skill or question of the day
Sometimes you have to redo or refocus how your present your information. Trying new teaching techniques instead of simply lecturing material will help all parties become more engaged.
My company shuts down inbetween semesters for a week. This is our vacation time. I use this time to regroup, rest and become excited about teaching again. I find this lesson to be correct. Mid-semester downers. I think it's a great idea to have the students write down a personal significant learning experience to have them reflect back. Sometimes getting bogged down and losing the excitement comes from constantly trying to motivate the students. This idea takes the burden off me and empowers the student without me having to do it. I'm definitely going to try this.
Kelly,
I am sure you are going to like the results you get from using this activity. This helps to get students into a reflective mood and this is important as they move through their coursework. They need to keep fresh in their mind why they are there and what their career goals are.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Everyone needs to sit, and take a deep breath at some point. As a pilot, we called it recaging our brains. When you mind gets overloaded with stimuli, it tends to bog down, and the student/person loses focus on what is important. Sitting back, and taking a deep breath, or doing a REFOCUS helps clear the air, and return the situation to clear fidelity.
David,
Good point and something that we educators need to remember as we get involved with running a course. It is easy to lose focus and then not "recage" our brains for the remainder of the course sessions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
"REFOCUS"ing allows the instructor to keep a fresh perspective and keep materials and presentations up to date. By recognizing problem areas, instructors keep their class content current and presentation methods interesting for both the students and the instructor herself. I try to change something each time I teach my course, even if it is just a small interactive discussion or the whole format of a particular topic. This keeps me excited by the material and keeps the class from becoming monotonous and therefore draining me of my enthusiasm.
After being exposed too this information, am thinking that change and having fun changing in the class room is in part how my heart is. Looking forward too learning more skills in order to deliver the best that I can, thank you for exposing new pathways. We have too enjoy what we our doing. We our not the smartest one in the room, OK, lets have fun learning. Its not about me, its about being able teach. Do you think that the teaching staff should have team building time?
David,
Having fun as an instructor is one of the reasons I have been teaching for so long. Teaching has never gotten boring to me (note: full disclosure the paperwork, politics, and at time the people have.) but the students and my subject area has not. I am excited at your excitement because you are enjoying your time in helping students to move closer to their career goals.
As for the team building time I think it is a good thing if there are clear outcomes and everyone can see why it is important to their professional development.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Every class is different. Each student has their own needs and obstacles.
If you don't refocus once a week or so you will stop seeing the people in your class because all the students are in the way.
It is all too easy to lose your excitement for your classes as the semester/quarter goes on. Often this happens gradually and you do not even notices that you are slowly starting to just "go through the motions". This is why it is very important to take time to do some reflection and on what direction your classes are taking. I find for me, I need to do it frequently to ensure consistency in my performance.
Eric,
Good reminder because you are right. We cannot let down or the energy of the class will be lost and this loss will impact the engagement and focus of students. When they start to wear down it is time to introduce something new or exciting and ramp them back up.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Students learning styles can be different. It is of upmost importance to identify how the student will attain the information presented to be successful. Whether they are a visual, tactile,or auditory learner one should change the focus of their teaching style to accomodate the student.
Jennifer,
Right you are and this is why we need to offer variety in our instructional delivery. This way we can appeal to the different learning preferences and keep the focus of our students for the duration of our classes.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
