Get Your Students Hired
Sometimes I put students to compit for aprize over a subject that we study during that week.the one with more answers ,win the prize.And this make the learning competitive e interesting.
Sometimes I will put my students to compit on a subject that we are studying and I will give them aprice to the one that have more answers.
Daniel, can you provide some more information as to how your question/answer sessions allow you to better manage your classroom? I want to make sure I fully understand what you are saying and what techniques you are using to enhance learning in your classroom.
Thanks for any information you can share.
Regards,
James Jackson
Mynor, can you elaborate a bit on your materials? Effective teaching requires a two way communication to take place and the creation of PowerPoint Presentations while potentially helpful in classroom management is only one part of the larger environment. Be careful in how you manage your message just as much as how you manage your classroom. Reply back with some of your techniques for getting students engaged and actively learning in your classroom.
Regards,
James Jackson
Sonia, can you provide an actual example of what you mean by enhancing your classroom management by being less sympathetic to the students needs and being more empathetic?
Anyone reading this post, please provide your thoughts on this topic.
Regards,
James Jackson
When the students are havin a test,they have areview before:I ask a question to each one until we finish all the chapter and the one that have more questios answered win a prize.
I have developed new didactic material like power point presentations and that helps.
I learn today that I need to stablish a limited time to complete task.
In an effort to improve my classroom management skills I have asked the students to provide me with feedback as to what they would like me to do differently that could help enhance their learning capabilities. Lukily at my school we have periodic instructor evaluations that aid in self improvement. To further enhance my classroom management I feel I could be less sympathetic to the students needs and be more empathetic.
As a Program Director, I have the privileage of watching my instructors teach and when I do, I not only make note of the things that they could improve on, but on the things that they do that I can utilize to improve myself. No one person has the best answer for every situation. It is important to be open to new ideas from both older more experienced instructors to younger instructors with a fresh take on an old theme!
Marlene, looks like you do a great job of setting expectations early in your classroom. Have you always followed this structure and if not what types of discipline issues did you experience before versus what you deal with now?
Regards,
James Jackson
On the first day of class I have the students read and sign the syllabus. I discuss what behavior is expected and what consequences would be utilized if proper behavior is not maintained.
Shannon, what you describe is very similar to the technique called scaffolding. By providing a formal and tangible structure for your students of all intelligence levels to follow, you provide them a roadmap of sorts to reach their educational goals. Great use of mental imagery as well in that by allowing them to focus on something as simple as how many ways to tie a shoe lace, they can mind trip of sorts about how other concepts can be handled in multiple ways. Greatly appreciate you sharing and demonstrating the success you are having being so progressive in your teaching techniques.
Regards,
James
In the past, I have introduced new teaching techniques so that the students of all intelligence levels are able to actively engage in the material. I have also changed the way I introduce the class to the students. On the first day, with the syllabus, I usually begin explaining the expecations of the classroom as well as of them and myself. I then go into a classroom discussion and introduce the idea of theory to the students by asking them how many ways there is to tie your shoes (when there are shoe laces). This is an interesting discussion and when I show them that there is more than your two basic ways, they are fascinated and I then go into the idea of theory, that there are many ways that situations can be explained, but they are all theories...and it is important to have an open mind when we are talking about these different theories. I usually have everyone's attention from that point on.
Jennifer, thanks so much for your input and feedback on the course. You have provided some great first hand affirmations with respect to the value of setting the stage early in the class. By establishing a set of ground rules and expectations on day one, you can really make your life as an instructor much easier. You will occasionally have those students that want to test the boundaries. The majority of them do this because other instructors are not willing to be fair but firm and set the rules early so when the student comes across an instructor that is doing things correctly and establishing a safe and effective learning environment, they want to test the waters so to speak. By standing your ground and demonstrating to all the students your rule as not just guidelines but a foundation for effective learning, they will come to respect you even more and learn more from you because of that respect.
Thanks so much for sharing and good luck in all future endeavors.
Timothy,
I too would wait to explain the rules, and I always felt my niceness was mistaken for weakness, so I then would become the mean dictator instructor that the students were frustrated with. I now clearly communicate what I expect from the students the first day of class. I always have 1 student who will test them, but I take the opportunity to make it a teaching lesson and it usually takes care of the problem for the rest of the course. I am a controller, so I am going try a more gentle approach to the rules in the beginning to see if I can stop the students who will test me in the first place.
Timothy, you have already overcome a huge hurdle which is self-reflection and acceptance of what you need to work on to go from a good instructor to a great instructor. In my experience of training instructors and other professionals which spans over 15 years now, I have found the hardest part is the self-realization that a change is needed. Being a great instructor is no different than being a great leader in any industry. The greatest leaders are able to reach their stakeholders in multiple dimensions including instructional leadership, inspirational leadership and spiritual leadership. There are successful leaders that can focus on just one of these areas but tend to falter at some point in their career. What I teach to my leaders going forth is to always focus on all areas of leadership. The instructional leader is great at providing instructions and telling others what they need to do. Problem with this as the only style of leadership is the leader always needs to be present to ensure things are getting done. You will often hear of the relationship between managers and leaders and this is one large area that tends to take leaders into that manager category, they only know how to instruct others. Inspirational leadership is more motivational and inspires stakeholders to follow the leader and idolize the leader. This style can be incredibly powerful but can also be harmful if the leader is not focused on the overall good of all stakeholders. The spiritual leader has follows based on faith and not just in a religious sense but faith of being a person worthy of following. By focusing on always being a complete leader; instructional, inspirational, and spiritual, you as an instructor can have great value to your students. A couple of cliché’s that comes up but are very useful include “be fair but firmâ€, and “lead by exampleâ€. It is OK to challenge your students. If your own child was habitually late, or disrupted class or was misbehaving in other ways, would you not take notice and do what you could to provide leadership to your own child? Why should it be different for any of your students? You are preparing them for life as a professional beyond their subject matter area. Leading by example is perhaps one of the most misunderstood areas of teaching. If your students do not see you following your own rules and policies, why should they feel responsible to follow them? The “do what I say and not as I do†type of instructors tend to have limited success over the lifetime of students they service and this is from 15 years of observation.
Well, I have gotten incredibly long winded here but wanted to provide you with this information and encourage you to move forward. You seem to have a great focus and direction and please let me know if there is ever anything I can do to assist you.
You are welcome to connect with me professionally on my LinkedIn page and this is totally optional.
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Kindest regards,
James
When I was first starting out, I overlooked the importance of making rules clear at the beginning of the course and enforcing them consistently. At the start of the course, everyone is a little nervous and excited to be there and it seems like discipline will never be a factor. I remember I had one student who used to timidly ask me if he could use the restroom. I kept telling him he didn't have to ask, just go. But as time goes on, the students get comfortable, and they revert back to their high school ways. Things like cell phone usage, talking during lecture, horseplay in the shop, coming in late, not returning from breaks on time etc., become a problem. Other experienced instructors have told me that if you start out tough, you can always be more laid back later, but never the other way around. I like to think I have alot of the characteristics of a guide, but I know my natural inclination is to be a buddy, so I am constantly working on having a more disciplined classroom management style.
Thanks for your response Wilfredo. Classroom management can come in many forms but the final analysis of success is in the results of your actions. It appears to me that you are a top level instructor who takes teaching and learning very seriously. You have demonstrated through your response that you care about pedagogy and the dynamics of group activities. Your response also provided insight into your willingness to learn from other faculty members and to take what you have learned and apply new skills and techniques into your own classrooms. I love that you have self-evaluated as a motivated individual and your focus on your teaching process. Now you have some knowledge and resources to take teaching to an even new level. Take what you have learned in this class and monitor the impact on the next series of courses you teach. Self-evaluation is critical and the best instructors tend to measure what they have learned and evaluate by means of changes in student success and persistence. I would be most interested in hearing of your experiences over time. If you would be interested, you are welcome to join my professional network in LinkedIn. I have provided the address to my LinkedIn profile if you are interested; there is no obligation of any kind to take any action here, totally voluntary on your part.
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Kindest regards,
James
To improve my classes I have fallowed 3 strategies:
First, I studied key problems related to pedagogy and physiological groups guiding to improve my knowledge in how to achieve a high quality class.
Second, I learned participatory methods to improve the group dynamics. This methods offer many resources to guide with success a class with adults. This knowledge allows me to have a background of efficient answers for expected or unexpected situations.
Third, I have observed whenever I had a chance classes taught by other teachers that are rich in experience and have a strong knowledge in the guiding of the class. I have also watched movies that show different examples of issues that teachers face in the teaching process.
I think that my classroom management style is good because I am a professor that's motivated by the teaching process, I have a strong knowledge in the topics that I teach, and I have much physiological recourse, flexibility and patience for guiding problematic situations that affects the class. Now, I believe I should learn a few more strategies out of the ones showed in this course. I believe that teachers that work in schools like mine should develop the abilities of classroom management with students from different cultures.
Justin, great response and very detailed.
Video tapping is a great tool and one I have used in the past and use to this day. It is also a good way to have others review your techniques and allow them to provide feedback that can make you a better instructor and more importantly a better guide for your students.
Thanks for providing such detailed information on how you managed the distrustful student. Such information will be of great value to others taking this course and are looking for real world examples of effective classroom methodology to handle similar situations.
I also like what you said about working to become more like a guide as was discussed in the training. You will find over time that providing students with more choices and getting them more involved in how they learn will really provide great dividends in better learning outcomes for your students, better student success and will also result in better student retention which is critical for them to become successful and achieve their educational goals.
Thanks for your participation and in the sharing of your relevant and detailed information.
Kindest regards
James Jackson