Dr. J's Blog

What are your goals as an educator, teacher, and mentor to your students? Do you have a clearly defined mission statement now, one which guides your day and the plans you establish for your week?

When you are actively involved in the classroom and working with your adult students, classroom management and what you need to teach are the order of the day. As the class progresses, you may consider the perspective of your students; along with what motivates them, how they persist when faced with challenges, and what it is like for them to interact with the classroom environment. But have you ever considered how your students view you as an educator? Does it matter to you or influence how you teach when you are planning your class or considering future professional...

You may remember how you got started as an instructor, but do you recall what inspires you to continue teaching? The instructional duties of an educator require well-developed planning, organizational, and time management skills, especially if you have multiple projects or career responsibilities to balance. If you teach in a traditional college classroom, you must plan for a class or classes that typically meets on a specific day or time during the week. If you teach online, the general expectation is that you will be actively engaged in your class throughout the entire week.

What inspires you to devote the time necessary to create a meaningful learning experience, knowing that you will need to make a significant commitment of your time? Yes, it is your responsibility to...

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.  – Franklin D. Roosevelt.

There is one feeling that carries with it more negative power than any other and it is fear. The very word fear itself can bring unpleasant memories to light and remind us of what we believe we cannot accomplish. It carries a negative connotation and represents an uncomfortable feeling of helplessness or hopelessness. It may be felt when a goal was not achieved, and result in a time of questioning, doubt, and second-guessing.

Fear is also associated with a time when a person becomes afraid to try something new or becomes indecisive while considering possibilities about what may or may not happen as a result of a pending decision. It is a time of uncertainty, looking ahead and not knowing...

Do you have students who struggle in your classes, yet will not ask for help? Do you conduct outreach strategies, or do you wait for them to contact you?

It would seem students should want the help of their instructors, especially when they are struggling with course topics, assignments, and meeting deadlines. But the reality is that this is not usually the case and as most educators know, students may even resist the very idea of asking for help and prefer to give up when faced with a challenge. This can occur even when an instructor has done everything possible to encourage students to speak up. For example, I have observed many online classes where instructors created optimal classroom conditions that were conducive for productive exchanges, similar to what I have...