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Know thyself - keys to becoming a good teacher

ED 105 really empowered me to become more self-reflective as I develop course content.  Personality profiles and assessments genuinely help new teachers to determine their delivery style and what works.  If a teacher begins not knowing enough about their strengths and weaknesses, then that teacher will have a weaker starting point.  I believe this teacher will still learn their strengths and weaknesses through trial and errors, but much time will be saved if we, as teachers, learn and cultivate our skills before we enter the classroom.  Ways to do this is to take time after our long studies in school.  We learned much in school to sharpen our skills, but we must learn outside of the classroom post graduation.  Things we learn about ourselves may not be found in a textbook alone, but may also be found within ourselves as we sit in quiet solitude pondering our passions and charging our battery for the road of teaching ahead.

It is absolutely imperative that an instructor knows where their strengths and weakness are.  Otherwise they will never Grow.  We must constantly look at ourselves and ask hard questions about the job we are doing, and weather or not we could do it better.  I think too many teachers/instructors get locked into one way of teaching a class which will only focus on their strengths, allowing their weaknesses to stay weaknesses.

I have found that continuing education is a great way to stay fresh and constantly improve. Another great tool is learning by doing or trial and error. There are so many great resources out there that it seems unlikely one will not find a solution to whatever problem one will encounter, the biggest roadblock may be that we do not want to change or get out of our comfort zone not that there is not solution.

I think one of the greatest dangers to experienced instructors, as well as new ones, is to assume that you're doing okay. We must constantly take a step back and evaluate ourselves to determine if there are improvements we can make. I firmly believe that the learning process never stops and the only thing that remains constant is the need for change.

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