Instructor; The thin line between friend and teacher
I have observed instructors struggling to manage a class and maintain the boundary line that separates the instructor as a friend in order to maintain order in the classroom or encourage participation. Any suggestions on strategies to achieve successful participation and interactive environment without crossing the boundary line.
Lisa,
Start the class in an organized fashion and portray yourself as an experienced well prepared educator. By doing so you the students will see you as a learning leader which is important in managing student behavior and maintaining control of the class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have struggled with this topic myself and agree with the previous response. I have found that as long as you start the class prepared and have an outline and goal objectives for the day and demonstrate your class leadership it resets your roll as the instructor. Also I think that as long as an instructor refrains to the best of their ability from discussing personal issues about themselves or their students this makes that line a lot thicker!
I agree, about starting the class in a organized fashion and portray as a experienced educator and experience about the subject being tought, as the class goes on iinteract with the students and get to know them better as to learn on how to interact with them at there knowledge level to help them understand and comprehend the subject matter better, but as to not getteing to know them personaly.
It can be a struggle trying to walk the fine line betweenfriend and pal. Maintaining your professionalism, not getting involved in the students personal issues and vice versa will help.
You can offer suppport and show concern without becoming too involved in their lives or allowing them to become too involved in yours.
Veora,
Well said. It is a balancing act that we need to constantly be aware of and maintain. When done then we will have earned the respect of our students while developing rapport.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I try not to show any favoritism, but it can be difficult! I have college age children so it's easy for me to relate to most of my students, however, I am constantly aware of crossing the line. I would rather have a student respect me than like me.
I have found that personal discussion is an extremely important part of motivating my students in Success Skills. Nothing gets the adults learners more involved than the chance to relate their personal experiences to the rest of the class. Do you think there is a time and place to encourage this kind of personal discussion?
Gary,
I have never been in a situation yet where I felt like the control of the classroom was being yielded to my students, but I've had students who apparently feel as though this happens. I strongly encourage open and personal discussion, and for the sake of making sure all students get a chance to speak and relate, I will allow them to speak even if it's "off topic" for a little bit before redirecting them back to the topic at hand. Is there a way to compromise here? I am stuck between potentially looking as though I have lost authority and not allowing as many students to feel supremely comfortable in my classroom as possible.
To be clear--there is never an open conflict of interests during class. The only time I have caught wind of students feeling as though the class is "lacking control" is from sparse hearsay.
Jennifer,
I would set up a discussion format called "Connecting Points". So when a certain topic comes up then the students can bring in their own life experiences in relation to that topic. This way you can control the discussion and limit the time spent on this. The reason that I mention time is that it is not unusual to have a student take off on his/her life experiences which do not apply to the topic and they just go on and on.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Jennifer,
One since it is hearsay I wouldn't be too concerned about making major adjustments on student contributions. Though I would say if you have such a feeling you can set time parameters such as 1 minute or 3 minute responses. I do this a lot. I use the elevator speech model and tell the students that they have 3 minutes to convince me of their position or explain their point as we leave the ground floor and head to the top of the building. By using this example I can if I see them going off topic too much hold up my hand with 3 fingers or 5, etc.. This way they can visually see that I am measuring "our" progress to the top of the building without having to interrupt them while they are talking. A very effective easy way to manage control of the discussion while yet getting input from the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Jennifer,
One since it is hearsay I wouldn't be too concerned about making major adjustments on student contributions. Though I would say if you have such a feeling you can set time parameters such as 1 minute or 3 minute responses. I do this a lot. I use the elevator speech model and tell the students that they have 3 minutes to convince me of their position or explain their point as we leave the ground floor and head to the top of the building. By using this example I can if I see them going off topic too much hold up my hand with 3 fingers or 5, etc.. This way they can visually see that I am measuring "our" progress to the top of the building without having to interrupt them while they are talking. A very effective easy way to manage control of the discussion while yet getting input from the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree with the fine line drawn with personal issues. Remember to remain neutral. I prefer to not speak of any personal dealings with my students unless it is related to the course I am teaching.
Tiffany,
This approach is how it should be in terms of interacting with each student. We need to respect the confidence of our students and not share anything that would not be appropriate for others to know.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I make it clear from the first day of class that I am here to help them achieve their goals and I may be hard on them but they know I care about each and everyone of them.
Roxzelda,
Knowing they have a supportive instructor is very important for students. This sets the tone for the class because they know you are there for them if they will put forth the effort to be successful. It is up to them to fail just as it is up to them to be successful. Good point.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
