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new to teaching

My new position is to teach in a field that I have about 10 years experience in so I feel I know the subject matter fairly well but I can't stop being very nervous about the teaching aspect of it. My question is there any tricks to getting over my nervousness and building my confidence or is it just a matter of getting in there and getting experience. I just dont want to let anyone down mostly my students. Thanks for the help .

Understanding the Learning Culture of the Group

I find it very important to quickly learn the learning culture of the group. In my experience, our school is small enough that we have small classes and the students are usually in the same classes together. As I get to know them, it is easier to learn how they learn.

Transference of Learning

Do you see transference of learning occurying when you use active lessons that involve critical thinking especially in comparison to more lecture teacher centered lessons?

ED101

I find that giving students more Labs, more Supplemental Material, more Text Book Activities, that on top of what is on the curriculum, they will gain more! They will be better learners They will be better employees

Active Learning

Engaging students in active learning appears to be the best way of optimizing learning.

ED101

I like to start out with something funny before class,to get their's attention.

ED101

I like to think that I model myself as someone that can teach and show students that they can learn, and that they can have confidence in what they do.

First day of class

What are your thoughts about assigning seats for students prior to their first day of the class?

New Course Preparation

What is the best way you have found to create PowerPoint slides for a course when they are not provided by the publisher?

keep the class engaged

encourage an activity to get bodies moving when there seems to be a lull.

Discussion lengths

I often insert discussions with analysis questions and critical thinking issues into my lectures to engage the students. I wasn't aware that it was a special strategy until now; however, it does bring to mind many comments from students regarding how they don't get much time to talk in other classes. My main concern is how much time should be devoted to discussion. I have a 90 minute class that meets twice a week and a 3.5 hour class that meets once a week. I want to make sure that I have an appropriate balance.

students with disabilities

I have had several and by finding what kind then I can change teaching styles to help them learn better

groups

I like to form groups of students with different skills as this helps all of them to se what tey can do to help each other

eye contact

I like to eye contact as I can see if the student is paying attition or if they get the message

FOREIGN STUDENTS

I had two of them in last class and by being slow and talking about subject and then showing them was a big help

Q&A minus the Q...

I try to make lectures an interactive experience - my presentations have pictures, video, and I always give a demo, but a lot of times when I ask a question - there is no response. Theses aren't hard questions, and there are usually no wrong answers, I think it's just that this group does not feel comfortable speaking in front of others, whether it be me or their peers. How do you make students feel comfortable enough to answer questions in class? What techniques would you use for this?

You know what they say about first impressions...

In my first term I was a new hire as an ad-junct professor and brought on board the week before school started, on a building that was being remodeled. At the time I didn't have access to the online accounts or even a school email (as it takes three weeks to get fully on-boarded, and I was on week 2). Needless to say it was not the best first impression, and very hard to look anything but unprepared - but I soldiered on and tried to make the best of it. Has anyone ever had a class where you thought you did *not* make a good first impression? How did you correct it?

Are textbooks still a thing?

I know many courses require a textbook, and mine are no exception. However I've found that in my field (computer art) a lot of times textbooks can be technical, boring, or somewhat confusing. I don't think I've ever referred a student to the book when a question came up, finding face-to-face instruction and an animated visual demo succeeding far better than the written words. Does this happen for anyone else?

Art in the Classroom

For me, I always tend to include a lot of images and videos in my presentations, lectures, and demos - as an art instructor I tend to use this more than most I would imagine. What images or videos, if any, do you include in presentations? Is there a go-to intro video for your class? Or an inspirational speech? I think Steve Job's 2005 Stanford Commencement speech (stay hungry, stay foolish) is a great way to start off a term.

How imporant is your syllabus?

Syllabus gives you and your students a guide to the class and what is expected.