Dr. J's Blog

Do you see the best in your students now? Or will you be so focused on classroom management there is only time to get the job done each week? Do you teach online and see a group of anonymous students you may never really get to know? Or do you take the time to learn what you can, through discussions and feedback, to help students with their developmental needs?

Teaching students is not always a matter of showing up for class, disseminating information and instructions, facilitating class discussions, and providing feedback. It is more about the instructional approach you take and its effectiveness when utilized. This is especially true for online instructors who teach in a technologically enabled environment. Your classroom presence as the assigned instructor, or lack thereof,...

Do you look forward to providing student feedback, or do you dread the thought of having to read through student papers? Do students engage with and respond to your feedback now? Would you like to be certain students are reading the feedback you take time to develop?

As an educator you may spend a significant amount of time developing feedback for your students, especially for their written assignments. The developmental progress of your students is strengthened when you provide meaningful feedback and they respond to it, either through their actions and improved performance or their follow up questions to you. How do you react when students don’t respond to your feedback? What if they continue to make the same mistakes and their performance does not improve? Do you assume that...

Do you have any students who are at risk for failure now? Is the performance of any of your students declining? How do you react when your students are not performing well in class?

If I were to ask you which students in your class were likely to fail, the easiest indicator would be grades as it offers evidence of students who are not making considerable progress. As most educators know, grades present only one aspect of the learning process and it is still possible that any student can be at risk for failure, even those students who are peak performers. While some students can excel, regardless of classroom conditions, most experience fluctuations in their performance throughout their academic journey. It takes someone who is actively engaged in their class and working with...

Are you feeling it is time for a change in your career? Do you believe you have gone as far as you can in your current role? Can you recognize the signs it is time to make a job transition? Are you uncertain if the timing is right to make a change and how you should begin the process?

Every job has a life cycle. There is an exciting or interesting starting point and then a natural progression that occurs over time. After a period of growth there will be a point when the job will peak. At this maturity point there may be a change made that allows the cycle to restart, or the job enters the decline and the employee loses interest, becomes complacent, works to just get by, and/or begins the search for a new job. Regardless of the final outcome, most every job goes through this...