The right instructor...
What kind of knowledge, skills, and aptitudes do you seek in your instructors?
The knowledge we seek from an instructor revolves around education and life experience. Knowledge is gained by doing. We seek out instructors that have demonstrated themselves previously or have the potential to build certain skills. All of our instructors have to have knowledge of the sciences, business world, and/or massage technique.
The skills we seek from an instructor include computer competency and licensing in their field.
Finally, the aptitudes we seek from an instructor are the ability to lead, counsel and manage students. Strong organizational skills and interpersonal skills are also required.
It appears that you have a good grasp of what you are looking for in an instructor. Knowing that can make the task a little easier.
We look for instructors who have the content knowledge of whatever allied health profession we teach (pharmacy tech, veterinary tech, medical assistant, phlebotomist, dental assistant) and who also have a strong command of the skills of each field. We look for instructors who have enthusism for their medical specialty and who want to share their knowledge and skills with those who want to enter the professions. We also seek instructors who are team players and who are committed to building their own skills in teaching.
Hi Maureen
Welcome! How difficult is it to hire people with the skill set you seek?
The proces of finding, then hiring a new instructor is aided by a good review of your current staff. Career schools are held to a host of regulatory standards for their instructors, such as a degree, license, cerification and so forth, those must be met; and are certainly deal-breakers.
The KSAO's we have sought have been things like degrees, certifications, etc. Subject matter expertise from the classroom and the work world. Prior teaching experience. The work hours available, and their overall desire to help change people by infusing new skills into them.
Thanks for your response Charles. What have you
found to be the most important aspect of hiring an instructor? Do you consider hiring people without experience?
In addition to being able to teach the academic and vocational aspects of our courses, our instructors must also be able to relate to the population whom we serve. We look for instructors who are passionate about what they do; those with a missionary zeal; those who are compassionate; those who understand the invisible wounds carried around by many of our students.
Our instructors are able to motivate and nuture our students because that is what is needed above and beyond knowledge and skills and ablilities. They are almost surrogate parents . . . modeling effective forms of cultural and social behaviors for adults who might have been acculturated in a dysfunctional manner.
Overall, we've had success in recruiting and hiring instructors with the knowledge and skill sets of the particular medical speciality. Our challeges start when working with these individuals on developing their teaching skills. My biggest challenge is helping these new instructors begin to think of themselves as instructors rather than medical assistants, pharmacy assistants, etc. This is a transition that takes hard work and thoughtful reflection. Given the reality that most instructors teach part-time and hold other part or full-time positions elsewhere it takes a good deal of creativity to give them the support and information necessary to build their teaching skills.
Hi Alessandra
Great comments. Faculty can have a key role in developing not only marketable skills, but also in developing basic skills such as punctuality, attendence and personal accountability.
Do you consider personality or professional experience more important in hiring an instructor?
We require the instructors have degrees in the field of teaching or an appropriate number of credit hours. On the job train is also considered
The school is accredited by ACICS. Standards require instructors to have at least a bachelors degree in the field of teaching. In some cases a degree in another field is okay if a certain number of semester credit hours was passed in subject the instructor is teaching. Also in some cases verifiable job skills in the field of teaching can be subsituted.
Instructors must demonstrate a passion for education and student success. They must have academic credentials at least one degree above the program they are teaching. Strong communication skills, both written and verbal are required. Instructors must demonstrate a willingness to be a team player. Compassion and patients are also required.
Lucinda
You are absolutely right. Nothing motivates a student like a passionate instructor.
Are you willing to hire someone without a teaching background? If so, what do you look for?
Knowledge: Solid education background
Skills: I look at OJT
Aptitudes: I look closely at "life" and "Job" and "desires"
In deciding whom I hire, my college requires specific education, after they meet that I look at skills & aptitudes. If they are lacking but have desire I am willing to train and my instructors are willing to train for the benefit of our students. I often find people who have no teaching or little teaching experience become the best teachers. Many of these people, self included, were at point for a career change without "teaching" skills and were a "natural" at it.
Being an accredited college, we must hire instructors with the appropriate educational background (degree) as well as licensure, certification and experience in the field. This requirement is the first “deal breaker†but certainly not the ONLY indicator of a good instructor.
Most of our instructors are not formally trained in teaching. Therefore, their abilities and other personal characteristics become very important when hiring and training.
We are always looking for that instructor who has a passion and excitement for their field of study and a desire to pass on that passion. That instructor must also posses the following: (1) a belief in education and that ALL students have the ability to learn; (2) an understanding that not ALL students learn the same way; (3) a willingness to teach the subject material in a variety of creative ways; (4) understand the importance of being a role model to their students; (5) the ability to connect, motivate, and “coachâ€; and (6) the belief that they are part of a team working toward the same goal - changing lives for the better!
Excellent response Heather. Many of us have to start with instructors not trained in teaching techniques. It is essential that they be aware of and develop coping stategies for learninng differences with our students.
As you said, "We all can learn, but not the same way".
My department does IT training, so our challenges are trying to keep up with that field. So our KSAOs are:
Knowledge
Understanding of certain software packages, industry terminology, and now most importantly a good grasp of IT methodologies involving business processes.
Skills
Our accrediting body requires 3 years real world experience in the particular area that our instructors will be teaching.
We as a career school also require teaching experience. Although we believe a talented individual can learn teaching skills, we are too small to invest that time in development.
Abilities
Most important is the ability to keep up with the changes in the industry. Our instructors spend about 25% of their time learning new products that have been released.
Some instructors do not like to have to constantly keep learning, or are not very good at learning.
Jeff
Hi Jeff,
I like your college's creed. Constant improvement. Career colleges have to be current or they won't be in the instructional business very long.
I find that if I don't strive to be relevant and current in my field as well as my education delivery I can get bored and not reflect excitement about my field. If I am bored my students are bored. I want them to come to class excited about what they are going to learn that day. This is not always the case but I strive for it each day.
The instructors that don't want to stay current are going to find themselves frustrated and start to have classroom management issues. Students reflect the attitude of the instructor. I would hope they would change their minds and want to become current or leave the field.
Gary
Right on Jamie. Your statements echo what we look for. If I see a good resume or hear of a good artist, I will call them and ask if they would like to come in and give our students a demonstration and lecture on what they specialize in. We pay them for their time and this tells us if they have many of the requirements to be teaching in the area of study.
I have been able to quickly eliminate or hire based on the info gathered from this demo and still have good promotion of our school.
Cliff
