Help

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Posted this under the Nurse Educator column; also posting here for better exposure.

As a newly hired ADN instructor at the same community college in which I graduated (just 6 short years ago...), I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and just plain tired. I am working all the time on lectures, always with my back against the wall, trying to beat the clock. Responsible for lecturing on so many subjects. Don't get me wrong--I really, really enjoy my job and am SO thankful for this opportunity. The other faculty members, by the way, are wonderfully supportive. Just feeling very stretched out and tired. We are losing some of our key faculty members to retirement and this is making me feel very nervous also. Need some ideas. Want to work smarter, more efficiently, to better use my very limited personal time and resources. Any suggestions on how to develop one's lectures and teaching style--- at least something to help a new instructor to get started??? Where do you experienced nurse educators out there acquire your lecture materials?

[semstr]

Know the feeling, been there too, after 11 years it is a bit better, but there still are times where I don't know how to do everything.

I always try to work in advance, meaning, when I know a class starts in january, I want to have my lecture ready in novembre. Not always possible, but I'll try.

then I always ask my colleques whethter they have lectures on this subject, even when they are old, there are things, didactics and ideas like that, you can use.

In the last few years I have been using the internet as a great source too.

And I am just starting to let my students work with the internet, I am trying the EBT (Evidence Based teaching) basics here.

Can't tell you a lot right now, but students say they have fun learning like this, plus they learn a lot, without noticing, they're learning.

My favourite saying though is: "Mut zur Lücke" this means "courage for the whole", which means, don't worry when you can't teach everything like it says in the curriculum. Stick to the facts, you as teacher know your students need in the practical envirement. (do they really need all the cells and stuff like that? or are their communicationskills important too?)

What I also do, transfer hours from one class to another, when possible again, so we have more time to discuss certain topics or I can show them more practical things, as actualy is written down.

But all in all, as an educator, you will always need some free time to put in your work. Well at least that how it is for me.

Since I started teaching, I have never been able to leave my work at work. Always thinking and planning, glad to have this extra hour in the metro, because when I come home, everything is planned for the next day.

You have a terrible lot of responsibility on your back, you are the one deciding and giving grades, you are the one who decides about a whole future sometimes. Yes it is a tough job. But the best there is!!

Take care, Renee

[Peeps Mcarthur]

Vicky,

As a student I can say that I appreciate a well organized studyguide over one that I think I'll get a lifetime of knowledge out of. A studyguide that has bullet points that are breifly elaborated on and avoids busy charts is "flashcard friendly" and will make it possible to learn. The content is not as important as the way it's presented.

but the important thing is.......................... will it be on the test in the same logical format?

You can write an informative, concise lecture only to have that effort thwarted by test questions so complicated that you'll never know if the lecture effectively presented the material.

I made a suggestion to the faculty here that they put studyguides in Word format on thier website. The ones they have now don't have anywhere to write lecture notes. If the studyguides were in Word format on thier website I could make spaces, draw lines, and even create tables if I wanted. That would effectively personalize the material for each student and they could show up to lecture better prepared.

I don't know if that helps, but I will be happy to give you a students opinnion any time.

[Vsummer1]

I am a student. The instructor's here use Powerpoint presentations, and we can copy the powerpoint slides from the binder they have on hold in the library.

I have 2 problems with this:

1) we have 2 instructor's who do lecture. One just simply reads the powerpoints. Ummm, I can do that myself! The other elaborates on them, and I love her lectures as I feel I am really getting something from them. I do much better on the test questions where the 2nd instructor has lectured.

2) the lectures leave out a LOT of material that is tested. Sure, I read the book (and it is a ton of material!) but I tend to think that if it was important enough to lecture on I should know it. Not necessarily so!

anyhow, my suggestions would be that if you provide notes, make sure they are relevant to what you want us to know and plan on testing us on. And if you provide notes, don't stand up there and read them, but use them as a basic guide to your lecture. Your students will appreciate it!

[semstr]

Yes, I forgot to tell you, all my students get copies of my lectures (school is paying for this, again a different system) and I give them a "question catalogue (sp)" for their tests.

And only these questions or careplans will be tested, hand on the bible, koran or whatever makes them feel secure.

(sorry, I don't want to offend anyone religious or nonreligious here)