Learner in Your Class
Why would you want to be a learner in your own classes?
My teaching is always enthusiastic. Sometimes acting silly can loosen up a classroom and relax nervous students. The work is well explained and because of my age in medicine there are many different stories I can tell. I said once after a very full day of teaching: why am I so tired? Another faculty said, "because teaching is 20% material and 80% performance". That explained it well.
Well said, Peggy. Keep up the great work and your energy!
Because I am an actress and a ham. I love being in front of the classroom, although I just teach online now. I am very interactive with students in the classroom.
How do you get the students to interact in your online course?
I have 34 years of nursing experience and I can relay a lot of stories to make the learning process more realistic, and memorable.
Patty, we both know stories are more memorable to learners than most lectures are. Thanks for sharing.
A learner in a classroom has to be challenged to be engaged which means that instructors must always assess if the students are "with them". I too have experienced the feeling of exhaustion because of the ability to perform. I keep the students engaged when I go into the classroom by a sort of on stage performance. It is at that moment that everything else that has happened before or anything that may try to steal my focus from what I need to do after, has to all fade away and I am in the spotlight. It sometimes takes a major refocus and performance type approach, but soon after everything kicks in and I have the students attention and they are engaged. The student will not be engaged unless the instructor is really on top of their game.
Thanks, Karen. It is up to us to do our part of the equation by being present and committed to doing a great job teaching.
I feel you should always be learning...in the classroom and in life. I try to engage my students constantly in class and have them work together as a team - I've learned this fosters confidence with my students who may be struggling. This also helps me gauge how everyone is doing and absorbing the subject matter. I learn about their strengths and weaknesses and can be a better instructor and accomodate their needs more efficiently. This, for me, results in more interest from the students and less test anxiety from the students. It also creates a support system for my students which is priceless and so important to them.
If you keep the attitude of a learner yourself, you can learn as much as the students do from your classes. Keep up your work as a student advocate!
I attempt to engage my students with fun interactive games, however, we can all learn something from each other. People think differently, so ideas vary.
I also found effective is getting feedback of how they would respond or react in situations they can relate to in the real world. This has kept them interested with the topic of discussion.
Melissa Hartfield
Stories...that's a great idea for a game...have the students write a story using med terminology.
See, so many ideas. Thanks.
My courses are very interactive. I do not stand in front of the class and lecture the entire time. I include online, group and other activities that allow for all different learning types to benefit from my class. I try to create a somewhat relaxed atmosphere in order to foster participation.
Christine, you are smart to plan activities and not just lecture. Many instructors do not know how to do this, but you have mastered it.
I would want to be a learner in my class because I tend to make things as interesting and fun as possible. I feed the students with information that will help them in the medical assisting field. I use real-life examples from my experiences to draw them into the material. I also can be silly at times and I have been known to crack a joke or two to get their attention.
I would agree with why you are so tired. I also use stories from my experiences in the medical field to try to grasp their attention and feed them with information to get them ready and excited to become medical assistants.
Students love stories and I would encourage you to continue with that practice, Lisa. As you said it builds interest and excitement for the job when they finish their program.
Keep up the food work, Lisa! I appreciate you sharing your ideas with me.
So you are able to engage successfully in your own class and relate with your students. Lifelong learning is important in our profession
