Learned how important an instructor image is
Reply to Marquita Scott's post: I agree that works well for both instructor and student!
Reply to Shelley Freshman's post: Thats a great idea!!!
As an instructor you have to be prepared to teach your class instead of worrying about things that may or may not happen.
Having the expectation that everyone will be like you.
It is okay to make mistakes as long as it is not consistently.
Take notes on mistakes and how you solved them so you can improve yourself the next time.
I am so bad learning new students names, I am always traying to be prepared and I find that if I take my time and don't get nervous I am a better teacher.
I use pnemonic devices to remember names. Tyler becomes "Tyler the Creator." Tony becomes "Tony Toni Tonê." I may use them in class as nicknames, depending on the mood of the room, or maybe just in my own mind as a way to remember them.
I teach at a school for creatives, so many of my students have memorable stage-names as well.
I have tended to under prepare, and go TOO fast, sometimes running out of material.
Good examples of how to be better prepared, and more effective.
making notes of any issues or mis-steps you may have experienced during a lab or lecture are great ways for you to avoid them for the following class. Having these in your lecture notes will help you remember to avoid those steps as you plan for your next class.
As a new instructure, I have doubts, but I am learnging to work on those doubt.
Instructors worry about scenarios that don't actually happen, which can impede how they interact with the class
Reply to Richard Roy's post:I practiced that for all my 12 years of college teaching. I used my phone camera to go around the class and record every student sharing their name and a little background.. and after the final exam on the last day, I would play that video in the class and students have a lot of fun as they notice how they've grown during those few weeks..
It was easy on Zoom as well, because student names were visible under their picture..
Encouraging students to wear name tags in the first few sessions (at least) can help remembering their names, but as stated in this course, I believe it's an integral part of the instructor's role. I feel so limited in a classroom when I don't know or remember a student's name, so I make it my priority to remember their names before the second session, and I practice calling on them by name in the second session to show that I care about everyone, and to consolidate my own memory..
They find it so special when I still remember their names months after they leave my class
Reply to David Wilson's post:Exactly.
Whenever I am faced with a new subject to teach, I spend a lot of time in preparation. My challenging problem is to estimate the time to cover every section of a new lecture. I don't ever run out of topics, but I run out of lecture time.
I tend to explain and repeat to ensure solid unerstanding, but with the limited lecture time every minute is so valuable.
I divide the lecture into sections according to the topic covered, so they are not of equal length..
But before presenting the same lecture the second time, I reconsider the previous experience and make some adjustments to try to fit the material in the allocated time. This usually involves letting students study some parts ahead on their own and bring me their questions.
This pushes some students to really study ahead, but some other students are left behind because they didn't study, and I hate it when some students are unable to compprehend the topic and I'm out of time..
I do offer office hours, and I encourage them to bring me questions, but in many cases they don't.
Self-reflections and taking notes help us learn from mistakes and evolve and grow in our teaching practice.
I hav eproblems remembering new studentrs names. IU today called on oine of my studnetrs to reasd the power point and called her somethings that was not her name. I said, I am sorry; she laughed and so did I.
In order to do the right thing well, you first have to do the right thing poorly. If you make a mistake in the classroom, it is important to own that mistake immediately, address it with the class honestly, and work through the mistake together. This shows the class that you have integrity and you're not just there to be an infallible authoritarian, you are there to help them to learn. Sometimes through this process, the instructor will learn too.
We all make mistakes, and learning from them is key for growth. Let's continue to prepare for what will come.
I learned it is very important to remember each of my studetns names and to present myself with confidence,
