people basic reading skills necessary for survival
in today’s world, teaching skills that are vital to
running a business, or teaching nursing skills
that will be critical to the survival of patients, we
can come to class excited about the pivotal role
that we and the content we teach can play in our
students’ lives.

C. APPROACHES FOCUSING ON THE
INSTRUCTOR’S CLASSROOM TEACHING
STYLE.

1. Teaching in a way that involves us in the
course. By “walking around the room, getting
closer to students,” by presenting the material in
a way that “requires a response, not just absorp-
tion,” by continuously adjusting our teaching
style based on the responses given by students,
we enhance our active involvement in the class-
room and thereby enhance our enthusiasm for
the teaching experience. The employment of
such teaching styles as playing “devil’s advo-
cate,” going over the homework together with
students, sharing the responsibility with stu-
dents for covering new material, questioning
students, and so on, make the classroom a
stimulating learning environment for ourselves
as teachers.

2. Making the material real to our students and
helping students learn for themselves. By
connecting the “course material, in some way, to
an aspect of their (the students) own experi-
ence,” students and the instructor become more
excited about the subject matter. A great deal of
enthusiasm is gencrated by designing our
courses to be “hands-on sessions, as close to real
life as possible.” Several instructors, as well,
wrote of the excitement they derived from
helping students be responsible for “their own
learning,” incorporate the material “in their own
way,” and discover the “answer on their own.”
We can be invigorated then by helping our
students apply the subject matter to their lives
and learn for themselves.

3. Using humor in the classroom. Humor can be
used to enliven the classroom experience, to
make it fun. Laughing with students at life and
ourselves eases tension, raises the energy of the
class, and helps students perceive us as more
human and accessible. Humor has the added
benefit of making material easier for students to
remember.

4. Challenging ourselves to find the best teaching
style for each situation. We can also generate a
great deal of enthusiasm by accepting the chal-
lenge of finding the most effective teaching style
for each situation. By seeing each class session
as “an entirely new experience,” we open to a
continuously unfolding and exciting discovery
process. For cach group of students and each
particular topic covered, we can actively explore
the learning format that will best facilitate
student understanding and integration of the
material.

This survey of faculty members at Santa Fe Commu-
nity College revealed a broad diversity of approaches
we can use to explore and enhance our enthusiasm. By
applying these approaches, we encourage exciting,
productive learning experiences for our students.
Instructor enthusiasm is a powerful teaching tool. It
not only enhances our own experience of teaching; but
more important, it stimulates interest in our students.

Lee J. Cartwright, Instructor, Business & Occupations

For further information, contact the author at Santa Fe
Community College, P.O. Box 4187, Santa Fe, NM

87502.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor

September 15, 1989, Vol. XI, No. 19

©The University of Texas at Austin, 1989
Further duplication is permitted by MEMBER
institutions for their own personnel.

12

 

 

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publicaton of the Nabonal Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD),

EDB 348, The University of Texas af Austin, Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsor-
tium members for $40 par year. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation.
Issued weekly when classes are in session during fall and spring terms and once during the summer. ISSN 0199 106%.