Sunday, February 21, 2010

Career exposure explosion

As a first year HSTE instructor, I feel as though I am finally settling into the mission and vision of the school. Part of that vision includes exposure outside of the classroom in the form of field trips and internship opportunities. The students are also exposed to various careers through guest speakers and innovative laboratory experiences. My student population consists of approximately 130 students over 5 class periods. The total program between two teachers consists of approximately 260 students. I am finding it a bit of a challenge to provide exposure to large student groups while maintaining the students attention. I also feel large class oriented presentations are unfair to the presenter. I am always seeking new contacts and resources to enrich the learning environment. I am struggling with how to communicate to my fellow HSTE instructor the need to schedule a separate speaker agenda and not combine classes during guest lecture. My struggle is that this may not represent the spirit of true teamwork. One of my primary weaknesses is having an expectation of those that I work with to perform with the same intensity and drive that I possess. I am far from the perfect teacher but my drive is to bring as much career exposure as possible to the students to decrease the didactic rigor. I am also struggling with the thought that classes may not receive equal exposure. I welcome the thoughts and suggestions of my peer group and instructors.

1 comment:

  1. Hi, Suzette - you raise an interesting point about sharing quest speakers with other classes, even ones that teach the same curriculum, as sometimes large gatherings increase behavioral issues and decrease presentation effectiveness. If this is a concern, you can always say that you want your students to get a more individual treatment from guests, as well as make it easier for speakers to interact with students, and that you will arrange speakers for your own classes. It is a tough issue as your colleagues may see it as a snub, but if grouped presentations are troublesome and ineffective, I would go with this approach. Other areas may be more conducive to teamwork than sharing presenters at the same time.

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