Your Educational Orchestra
After reflecting on the section titled "Observing your Educational Settings", how do you prepare to conduct your educational orchestra? Specifically what do you do to make the physical settings accommodating, prepare yourself as the educational leader and select the best materials and delivery methods?
I take pride in the way the campus and my lab look, visitors are impressed by the campus. I spend time preparing the classroom for the first day because their first impression is important to me. Technical training is a useful tool for staying current with the rapid changes in the automotive field.
I make great efforts to have all handout prepared before class and slowly introducte them to the class. I also go to great strides to set up field tripd that pertain to the subject at hand. we don't have access to colored paper, however i think that would be a grand idea.
i am in early every day. i use the time to make sure all material, hand outs etc. are ready. i also think the room / labs should show eye candy.such as pictures, posters. banners,etc. anything you are going to use that day should be out or you should know where it is . the class needs to feel that you are ready / prepared and enthusiactic for class at all times, after all impressions are everything!!
Hi Steve:
Your efforts are good and will noticed and appreciated by your students. Some "songs" can create greatness with very little. I encourage you to continue to make the most of what resources you have access to.
Regards, Barry
Hi Bill:
Right! All of your preparation will demonstrate to the students that a prepared teacher and class is present. That kind of gesture could spill over to the student to come to class prepared, with needed resources, and ready to learn. Leading by example, eh?
Regards, Barry
To prepare to teach my orchestra I arrange the room so I can walk behind the tables as I lecture and also between the rows down the center. This allows me visibility and access to the students when they are doing any hands on activity. I am able to look at who is taking notes and who is not so that I can coach them appropriately when scores for tests come in lower than average. To prepare myself I checked the training aids the day before and again an hour before class start to make sure we had everything we needed. For delivery methods I had a few I used but I waited and let the class dynamics determine which one I used.
Hi Douglass:
Good. It's been said that we have only one chance to make a good first impression. Neat and tidy suggests prepared and professional. A little goes a long way.
Regards, Barry
Hi Misty:
Your movemment about the classroom is a good practice. Students probably initially don't like it because they feel you're looking over their shoulder too much. But if you're doing it regularly, they'll soon get used to it and all concerned will be more relaxed in this great learning environment!
Regards, Barry
I like to get to work at least an hour before class starts in order to prepare the classroom and lab area. The vehicle training aids must be set up and checked for proper operation along with all the necessary tools and equiment.
I like to have the days agenda, required labs and groups the students will be working with already written on the white board. Having any programs on the PC that I will be using already open and minimized along with any necessary written material ready to go.
There are always things that will go wrong during the day but I find that being well prepared reduces my stress level and makes my day go much smoother.
After reflecting on this topic of Educational Setting; class preparation and flexibilty are very important. As it has been mentioned previously, being over prepared is very positive and allows for flexibility and a plan A, or plan B during a class session. Having the classroom arranged in a U-shape has proven beneficial for positive class interaction and positive learning outcomes. I look over the material prior to starting a subject matter and try to pick up on the learning styles of my student and adjust my presentation to fit the class. With some flexibility I can always go to plan b if plan a isn't working. I plan for the unexpected and always have a back up plan to implement.
Hi Gregory:
The techniques and styles refered to are great. I like your sentiment of attempting to tune into the students learning style, and your willingness to adjust as applicable. Good post!
Regards, Barry
I use the environment of my class room to display, my passion for the field, and the rewards that can be obtained by being the best that an individual can be. With displays of extreme successes and of some dramatic failures, students can connect with the reality of the industries. I always speak from the positive, reminding students that even mistakes or short comings will bring valuable and usually well taught lessons. The appearance of the class and how prepared and efficient I orchestrate lend credence to what I say.
Hi Bernard:
Great! Students love to hear about succeses and life experiences that relate to their eventual employment. They can visualize themselves in these situations, and perhaps, apply that enthusiasm to their academic-oriented studies.
Regards, Barry
First i get to know the class find out where ther experince is then i build off of that I use my knowage combined with what they know even if they only worked on a bicycle i use this to bring them into my world of the topic i am teaching I show the ones that have lees experince by looking at the real truck
Hi James:
Super. The ability to take students "from, where they are at present" and begin to relate their vocational trade or schooling to the real world of work is a effective tool, and have to say that not all necessarily possess that skill. But I think it something nearly anyone could learn. Thanks for bringing that morsel to the table.
Regards, Barry
Be prepared well before a presentation even
if you have done it many times. I have my room
ready to go and have all necessary training aids
and info sheets ready to go. In this way, you
time is utilized to the max and students sense
the importance of the lesson. I am very into
the course I teach and the students see this.
i have been told many times in the past that
"I sure got my money's worth in your class!"
The first thing I do is make sure I have all my handouts for the day already printed and in the class. Secondly I try to make the classroom as neat and orderly as possible. Lastly I try to have any training aids that I will be using for the day readily available.
Hi Bob:
Absolutely - no substitutue for preparation! Really, being prepared is really just being courteous and respectful of your students, their time, and their learning. Good job!
Regards, Barry
Hi Lyle:
Good. When students walk in and sense things are planned and thought out, it contributes to them feeling comfortable and perhaps, for some, it may even improve their performance because they will take their studies a bit more serious then they might have otherwise.
Regards, Barry
