Dr. J's Blog

When you are assigned a class and students arrive, do you view yourself as a teacher, instructor, or educator? Is your role a function, one which completes tasks and responsibilities, or do you aspire to accomplish more with your students? Do you consider the instructional strategies you use now to be transformative in some manner, or would you like to somehow transform the students you teach?

A person enters the field of education as a profession, either full-time in a traditional academic institution or as an adjunct (or part time) instructor. A traditional full-time professor may likely be responsible for conducting research, teaching, and publishing scholarly work. An adjunct instructor may teach in a community college, traditional college, or an online school. When someone...

When conditions at work become challenging, how do you react? Are you able to continue on with your day and feel a sense of self-control, or do you internalize the stressful conditions and experience a negative reaction?

There are many circumstances on the job which can have an adverse impact on your performance, from poor working conditions to taking on too many tasks, or facing an over-extended schedule. But there is one condition that can arise as a result of not responding well to circumstances, which can have a negative effect on a person's well-being, and it is a condition known as stress. While it may seem as if there is not much more to be said about this topic, given how extensively the subject...

As an instructor, are you aware of how your students are performing at all times? Do you maintain a proactive or reactive approach to instruction? Do you have supportive teaching strategies which are meant to help students grow?

It is possible you have developed a routine for your instructional tasks and address students when they ask questions or submit assignments. However, there is an aspect of teaching which requires a continued commitment and that is the manner in which you interact with and support your students.

Every educator is aware of the challenges involved in trying to create a dynamic and engaging learning environment, one that is supportive of the learning process and the developmental needs of students. Adjuncts face a greater challenge,...

Are your students performing their very best in your class and completing all learning activities on time? Do they always want to be involved in class discussions, eager to be part of the conversations, while demonstrating what they have learned from the assigned reading? Or do you have a typical mix of students, with some who excel, and other who struggle to stay motivated and involved in the class?

For a traditional class, student motivation can be observed. In contrast, online instructors must watch for a different set of cues and develop conditions within a learning management system which are conducive to learning. There is a belief among some educators it is not possible to help students that you cannot see, especially with a quality such as motivation which...