Some advise please!!

[millhouse]

I just accepted a job as a program coordinator and teacher for a public high school based CNA program. This is my first job teaching although I have trained many new RN's over my career. I am very nervous about it. It will be 2 classes a day M-F with each class about 2 1/2 hours in length. Both classes are the same content... but different students. I will do teaching along with lab at the school where there is a nice make shift hospital. Clinicals will begin around January. I don't have the curriculum but I know this course typically is done over weeks/month. How on earth am I going to spread it over an entire school year at 2.5 hours per day?? Any advise out there?? Also, any online resources that you are aware of?? I have looked but really cannot find anything. I have a new teacher orientation for 1 week before school starts. Thanks in advance!! Oh, and any insight/tips into teaching junior and seniors in high school??

[Whispera, MSN, RN]

I don't know of any resources to teach the content you'll be teaching.

With any age group, it's important to tell them your expectations at the beginning, for behavior, what work will be required, and quality of work that must be maintained. For the older students, you could even have them sign a "contract" that lists the rules and expectations, and they sign that they agree. That way they can't say they didn't know. Start off assertive and even a bit stern. You can always ease up later, but it's difficult to become more assertive/stern later.

Use practical experience stories and activities. Make it as concrete as you need to make it. Some of the youngers and maybe even some of the olders won't have developed alot of abstract thinking yet. Break it down to as basic as you need to make it...

[JBudd, MSN]

Ask them to think why they are doing certain things, not deeply into critical thinking but if people understand why they do what they do they may do it with a little more care and concern.

Whispera is right, set high standards to begin with. I started off grading careplans with plenty of leeway, thinking they were just beginning and needed to learn it. Instead they figured they already had it mastered and didn't put any effort into improving. So, don't go too easy on stuff, insist on "well begun, well done".