Kristin Minnick

Know your style of instructing and reflect on how that may intimidate or humiliate your students. Your goal is to create an environment where your students feel comfortable taking risks. 

Developing rapport with the students is crucial. They need to know that we as the instructors respect them as individuals. Students that feel uncomfortable participating in large group discussions, can benefit from small group discussions. This can open that gate to easing them into participating in class discussions. 

Get to know your students and start to build that rapport immediately. Help them set high but realistic goals for themselves. Show them that you care about the content through your enthusiasm. Learn to read the room to know when they need a short mental break by telling a joke or a short story. 

It is important to learn what your student's motivations are for seeking future education. Is it their field of choice or did they pursue it due to other reasons such as financial incentives? In addition to learning their motivations, it is helpful to learn what their view on education and how their previous experiences shape how they view the learning experience. 

The hardest part of teaching is getting the students to learn something about themselves. They need to take the time to realize their strengths and weaknesses, and it is our job to foster them learning self-awareness. We give the content, push students to question their assumptions and then create opportunities forthem to learn about themselves. 

Having a checklist of points to cover is helpful for two reasons: it ensures you cover everything, and if you don't finish, you can easily pick up where you left off in the next class. This flexibility means you won't have to rush through items at the end if an activity takes longer than expected.

The course mentioned the syllabus can create a sense of excitement. Thinking back, I realize I too got that sense of excitement when looking over a thoroughly laid out syllabus. It lets you know what you can look forward to and gives the student the chance to best prepare themselves for the term ahead. 

Capture the student's attention with your enthusiasm for the subject matter. It will wear off on some of them.