One of the biggest mistakes I have seen is a loss of confidence. You have to believe you know what you are doing and teaching. Once you lose your confidence, your students will lose confidence in you. Trust yourself and your experience.
Hi Jaclyn,
You have it! Students will lose all credibility for you if you do not have confidence in your abilities!
Patricia Scales
I have not been teaching long, only about 3 years, and I have made some mistakes and I am sure I will make more. This information was laid out well for me to notice some of the mistakes I have made. Wish I would have had this information a long time ago.
This is always important - what I call the "bag of tricks" for when an overall semester schedule may get off by a day or so due to various causes, or when you can just sense that a planned lecture or activity isn't clicking the way you expected, or when a lecture goes by a lot quicker than you expected...
First thing, being aware of them. Then being perceptive of yourself. When I first began teaching, I use to keep a journal. Each day I would make an entry about my teaching. I would reflect on the day. I would ask if there was anything I would have done differently and if so what would I have done differently. It made me think about my teaching and to make improvements where I needed.
I appreciate this cute saying and will place it in my notebook as a friendly reminder.
Practice what you will be teaching. Keeping your knowledge up to date. Learn and read as well as take the test that you will be giving the students. Test your knowledge... It is ok to make mistakes as we are all human. You also must take ownership of your mistake. This keep your morals and trust amoung the students.
I really like to hear that others have some concerns on how to make sure that you are covering things well enough. I am new at this and I can wait to use the idea with how well i need to explain something. this I hope will ease my concerns that I am covering all that is needed to be taught.
Hi Kim,
You make sure you thoroughly cover EVERYTHING that will be on the test, and if time permits casually mention other things. Remember, time is of the essence.
Patricia Scales
One way to avoid commonly made instructor mistakes is to remember that there is particular emphasis on professionalism in the career college setting. Remembering ones' own professionalism will help to reduce the risk of some of the commonly made mistakes.
Some ways to avoid commonly made instructor mistakes is to Set standards for your students, this way the know what is the expected behavior. Don't bring personal problems into classroom, that is not showing professionism. Don't try to be buddies with students. Provide leadership and direction instead. Provide simple support to allow the student to grasp the concepts and princles. Prepare a syllabus so you have direction. Using these strategies will enable an instructor to avodi mistakes
The easiest way to avoid common mistakes is to be prepared. It also helps to practice your delivery in class. There are also professional development classes offered at colleges that teach different classroom management techniques. Since these classes will be filled with other adults furthering their education, it would be good practice to try out some techniques in a friendly environment.
Hi Gwendolyn,
Great strategies mentioned! We should certainly be the professional that we want our students to become!
Patricia Scales
Richard,
Preparation is key! Students can quickly tell when you are unprepared.
Patricia Scales
Plus one on being prepared. Also, have a colleague or mentor critique you after observing you instruct.
I agree with you Kisha. I learn something new every time I teach a class, and sometimes my students will ask a question that I've never even thought about, which makes me have to do some homework!
As mentioned always over plan for the day. And I always like to think of things that might happen that could disrupt the class. Since I teach many computer based courses, I have a plan B set aside, just incase we have technical difficulties in the classroom. You never want to waste a day, with poor planning or technical issues, so having a back up plan is always good to have just in case something happens. I always tell other instructors, it is good to stay flexible and go with the flow of the class, and not be afraid to change the schedule up if it needs to, or how the subject matter is being approached. So people learn in different ways, and may need multiple approaches for the information to sink in.
I agree completely and I tell my students that I never did know all of the answers and I'm not afraid to say that. We are all here to learn. If we knew everything we wouldn't need to be here at all. I keep trying better ways to get the point across to them.
Hi Cynthia
It is best to let your students know when you don't know something. No one knows everything! Honesty is the best policy. Students can tell when you do not know, but you act like you do know. Students will respect you more when you admit to not knowing, but you will find the answer for them.
Patricia Scales
I am an over-preparer. I like to have plenty of time on my class preparation as well as how I want the whole course to flow. This gives me time to tweak items that need to be tweaked, keeps my workload manageable for the unforeseen and stressful additions and provides a better sense of comfort in the class. I like to prevent future mistakes by evaluating a class period or previous mistake and come up with a solution/better way to avoid its reoccurrence.
