Happy Anniversary
This August marks my first anniversary of teaching. I started in the Medical Assisting program as an adjunct instructor last year. I started off teaching Administrative Office Procedures and Law and Ethics. After spending 18 months to obtain my Masters in Adult Education, I finally felt like my hard work had paid off. I was hoping for full-time work but I was excited about the opportunity to pursue my goal.
The next big hurdle would be to put all those teaching theories into action. Although I had 20 years of experience with health information, trying to convey what you know to students is quite different. The knowledge and experience in health information gave me automatic credibility. However, students are not really interested in your credentials. They want to know if you can transfer this knowledge and experience to them in a manner that will help them understand concepts and procedures. I had wonderful teaching resources to help me with conveying information to students. I remember being a little nervous on my first day. Will they think that I am a complete idiot? Can they tell this is my first teaching job? Once I stopped listening to those voices in my head, I was able to focus on the job that I had to do.
I made sure that I was prepared for each course. I read the course book chapters and highlighted the information that I wanted to stress during the lecture. The PowerPoint slides were used as notes to guide me during my lecture. As I became more comfortable with standing in front of the class and lecturing, I was able to relax and be myself. The most important advice that I would give to a new instructor is to be yourself. Develop the teaching style that works best for you. When you are genuine, students respond to you better. Because you are speaking from the heart, they can relate to an experience that is real.
Another big factor in marking my first teaching anniversary is the wonderful mentor who hired me. She has taken me under her wings and given me advice on a number of issues. In my first semester, I had to deal with a difficult student. She gave me advice on how to handle the situation but allowed me to develop a strategy that worked for me. Having a supportive mentor that believes in your abilities as an instructor even when you don't makes all the difference.
Now that I have a year of teaching experience I am more confident in my abilities as an instructor. I look back to how far I have come in a year. As I continue my career, I hope to improve on my teaching methods and one day become a mentor for someone just starting out .