Heather,
Keep sharing your passion with them and they will thank you for it.
Philip Campbell
Carmen,
Many times a sense of confidence in someone is all they need in order to be successful.
Philip Campbell
Jonathan,
Yes, those applications make for great experiences in the classroom.
Philip Campbell
sometimes you have to teach in environments that are truly challenging, with very unmotivated students from enviroments with social problems where studying is not exactly a merit. in such situations is where a teacher has to grow and gather all the soft skills known and to know, i find that sometimes is more important to first gain the respect and sympathy of your students than rigidly focus on instruction, be a role model can be more important than demonstrating a masterful knowledge of the content.
As an instructor you must have a passion for the subject matter that you teach. Educating is a very rewarding job. It becomes challenging when the students don’t share that passion as you, and soft skills should come into place to motivate and challenge you to try harder to instill that passion on those students. This will create a better atmosphere in class and will benefit the rest of the students as well. As the instructor you should bring a lot of energy to the classroom which in turn will permeate into the entire students.
I believe that the most important quality in an instructor is that he/she be able to reach to the student. I have seen instructors who are very knowledgeable in their subject but does not know how to integrate the student in class. The student will then feel that he/she is not learning, or that the class is too monotonous making it boring, or come up with any other excuse for him/her begin to miss class.
When the student is always present, on time and eager to participate, the instructor must be making them feel right.
Irene,
Keep them on your side and they will begin to partner with you in the educational journey.
Philip Campbell
A positive attitude goes a long way.
I feel having a positive attitude and being transparent. Students should never be afraid to ask a question knowing the instructor will look at them as if they are crazy or the answer is stupid. In my classes there are no stupid questions. My students are never afraid to ask questions. I think every instructor should be this way. You can be very transparent and have respect at the same time. I work with some instructors who are very condescending to students, so they never ask questions and stay confused.
Most definitely. Positivity in tough times is a must when your teaching so you must empower self frequently. What you put in is what you will get out.
To be a success instructor we must have strong soft skills and hard skills. The reward is students who are eager & knowledgeable of the material delivered.
I determine the engagement of students by the way they are able to process, critical think and apply the information being taught. When they are able to critical think and the use application of knowledge, this is an indication of the effect of my teaching efforts and style.
Brenda,
They are great rewards aren't they?
Philip Campbell
I Agree 100% always Have A Good attitude stay positive will get u Anywhere You want in life..
Don Olsen Answer to the Question:
Highly effective instructors listen-listen-listen, not only with their ears but with their eyes. They observe non verbal behavior in the classroom from audience members and adjust their methods for content delivery as their audience attention waxes and wanes throughout a presentation.
Highly effective instructors watch for learning in their students eyes and adjust their content to help ensure that students are understanding key concepts. They ask reinforcing questions from their students to help verify that they are understanding what's being taught.
Highly effective instructors are not threatening but reinforcing their students ability to learn in a positive environment. Highly effective instructors maintain their "cool" even in conflict situations.
I believe the ability to motivate students even when they are wrong in their answers.
The ability to relate to our students. The ability to understand different perspectives and have the soft skills to bridge that gap when there is one.
I like your point about students feeling an instructor's energy and how that can affect the atmosphere of the classroom. I have encountered situations in the past when a group of students were clearly not interested in the activities we were doing and their 'nonchalant' attitude permeated the classroom, negatively affecting the eager students. In fact, my attitude suffered as well. As I look back, I realize my negative response to these students only contributed to the downward spiral and did not turn the situation around in a positive direction. Clearly I was in need of a different strategy. As you say, it is in challenging situations like this where an instructor's soft skills really come into play. I'm getting better in these situations and will continue to work on creating positive and 'life-giving' responses to my students. Using an analogy from biology, our classroom can be like a Petri dish: the students are the 'cells', the 'agar' is the classroom environment and the instructor is the chemist. The chemist exudes either a positive (life-giving) or negative (life-draining) energy. An instructor's soft skills can make all the difference!
The most highly effective instructions relate to their students and prioritize learning over all other. I had a professor who emphasized this very clearly when talking about classroom management. He said that a student who shows up to learn sometimes needs to be guided on following other classroom rules, but the rules should not diminish that students sincere desire to learn, and if the rules are being implemented in a manner that affect a students desire to learn than the teacher needs to focus on how rules are being enforced and which ones are crucial and which ones do not serve the educational mission.
I agree, if you love what you do the rest will easily fall into place…I am also constantly reminding my students how far they have come in a short time, and that is why I enjoy teaching, watching students absorb knowledge.
