I have come to realize that I am not anywhere near perfect and will always be learning new ways to present information in an effective manner. Being honest and upfront when I am wrong helps me learn and grow and humanizes me to my students.
I'm a pretty confident person but my obstacles that I will have, will be getting to personal with students. I want to help and I tend to ask to many questions and that could be taken as invading privacy or just come off creepy. I'm really talkative so I will have to always be presented in class as a professional once I let that go. I start telling stories, and getting to comfortable like their my friends and that I don't want to do. my fear is not knowing the material enough, fear of what I know I don;'t know and then I have to figure out a way to deliver the correct information without showing the students that I didn't know. I have learned in these last couple of weeks though to just be honest and say I don't know this information and look it up in the text or refer to a collegue. Don't worry I have not befrieneded any students that is just a struggle that I know I will face quarter after quarter.
Better to be over prepared than not prepared enough
Being organized plays a major role in also delivering the course material in a efficient manner. I think it also build confidence to an instructor who has never taught before. As an instructor I have to stay organized because it helps me stay on track and to also keep the students on track with the course. If I am disorganized so will my class and that can lead to a major disaster.
Instructors must show leadership at all times. Displaying respect and caring, competent attitude will avoid classroom conflict. Also being consistent and not a buddy to students will provide positive outcomes for the class.
Being a new instructor can be daunting. When you realize that most of the "what if's" are not really there and will not really affect you it will be a much more enjoyable experience.
One of he biggest mistakes instructors make is thinking there is not room for improvement. The other one is, this is my classroom and I will do it my way. The biggest one I see is I will just wing it. All of these show an air of arrogance not suited for the classroom.
Feeling that you are not prepared adequately to teach the class. It is a good practice to over-prepare to compensate for this.
It is okay to ask students for help. Just don't admit that you are new to teaching as that may hinder the compent imagine they have of you.
record or take notes, AAR after-action reviews, also this information will help you mentor other educators
In my experience, you need to set the stage on day one and be very clear about class expectations, if students need to raise their hands, being attentive in class and other policies. You can always lightemn your policies, but i have found if you start being 'too easy" you can't become harder or more strict about things. I am honest about needing the manage the class so everyone can learn and that my policies are for the good of the student who wants to learn. I have had some really challenging students over the years.. not a pleasant experience at times. it is important to look within in terms of how you might react to some students... there is often something else going on that may be making them angry and you are just the one who happened to be there when they reached their limit.
Namesand faces is hard on the first day of class. I try to memorize names before the first day. On the first day I do the normal ice-breaker of Your name, why areyou here, hob by. Then I activley say each students name as they share with teh class. By the end of the first day Ihav names and faces memeorized. its a lot of work forme but its part of my job. It comes easier to some other people and good for them. It takes anactive engagement for me and that's what I'll do.
Being more comfortable with making mistakes and managing the reaction well.
knowing that everyone makes mistakes even instructors but showing students how one properl deals with them is an great teaching point.
Over preparation and expecting perfection and not giving too much information all at once.
Taking notes and formally planning to adjust your teaching plans. I do this after class meetings without realizing it. I begin to look at the deficits I sensed while delivering content and feeling bad about my delivery. With a little redirection I am able to take that critical review of myself and turn it into energy for making positive changes. I do find that I need to pace myself as I can tend to begin looking for every little mistake. Attempting to reconstruct my entire approach can be daunting and not helpful.
As a new instructor I need to remember that I have the education and expertise in my field to teach the class. Sharing that I am new and that this is the first time I am teaching really will not benefit me. Being organized and focusing on class management should help with any anxiety that I may encounter during those first few classes. Devloping a rapport is essential during the first few classes. I believe that this will put me more at ease.
Being prepared, yet flexible enough to make changes on the fly, noting those changes on the lesson plan, re-prepare for the next class with modifications and then when things do go awry......laugh at yourself! Things do and WILL GO WRONG in the everyday world, our students need to learn that part of their success will be to keep trying, and keep showing up. Showing them that blowing a gasket and going on a rampage does not fix the problem, and only makes it worse, but stepping back, staying calm, getting input and trying again DOES work. Be the example in real life as compared to all the things we learn in classes too.
I think that learning common mistakes of new instructors was important. I only wish I started this certification tutorials earlier. After two years, I understand the common mistakes of new instructors because I have made them. I do like the recommendation of taking notes on your classes to assess how you are doing and making necessary changes.
We are human and we will make mistakes. Though mistakes occur, we must learn from them so prevent the repetition of such mistakes. Focus on improvement of delivering content by reviewing areas that didn't work then make the proper adjustments to help deliver the content better. Also, ask for tips and assistance from your colleagues within the institution.
