Twitter: the welcome wagon for new faculty
Today, I sent out this tweet:
please welcome my new mentee and 1st yr physics teacher, @awbikedaddy to twitter! What's the best piece of advice u've got 4 a new Teacher?—
John Burk (@occam98) July 16, 2011
Within a matter of hours, my tweet got more than a dozen responses, and my mentee had many wonderful teachers following him. When I think back to when I first started teaching physics, knowing only my two colleagues in my school, I can’t imagine how incredible it would have been to be able to connect with, and get advice from so many teachers so easily using twitter.
Here’s the advice that these teachers shared:
@occam98 @awbikedaddy Hello! Not sure if I can welcome to Twitr- I started Tue! Listen to John (ur in good hands); find ur own style.—
Brian Lamore (@bclamore) July 16, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy welcome! Best adv – think about why you are teaching a concept or giving HW. Just b/c it is in a book DNE important!—
Paul Price (@pricepd) July 16, 2011
Pester John w/ q'ns! RT @occam98 please welcome my mentee & new physics T, @awbikedaddy! What's best advice u've got 4 a new Teacher?—
Frank Noschese (@fnoschese) July 16, 2011
@fnoschese @occam98 @awbikedaddy I already gave it in another tweet, yesterday – don't smile before Easter!—
(@adchempages) July 16, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy Hang on & don't expect perfection, of your students or yourself!—
Jenn Broekman (@jsb16) July 16, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy Get involved. Twitter was so much more valuable once I started participating.—
Brian Carpenter (@physicscarp) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awdaddy best advice:take a modeling physics workshop—
Timothy Couillard (@coolyrd) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy Make "Aim for Progress not Perfection" your motto.—
Jenn Broekman (@jsb16) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy Be willing to say "I don't know". Don't try fool students into thinking u know what u don't –> lack of student trust.—
B McGinnis-Cavanaugh (@bcmcgcav) July 17, 2011
.@occam98 Welcome, @awbikedaddy ! Don't listen to anything anyone says… oh wait…… Really, so much to learn from so many folks here.—
L. Lee (@stardiverr) July 17, 2011
@jsb16 @occam98 @awbikedaddy Ohhh, that is good advice! Besides, no matter what you will always strive for perfection and fall short. (1/2)—
Chija Bauer (@bauerphysics) July 17, 2011
@jsb16 @occam98 @awbikedaddy That's what makes teaching so much fun, well not boring at least. (2/2)—
Chija Bauer (@bauerphysics) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy Smile the first day.—
(@kellyoshea) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedadd The first piece of advise I got was to wear comfortable socks.—
Geoff Schmit (@gcschmit) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedadd But seriously, I spent my first semester observing another teacher teach the same class as me *every day*.—
Geoff Schmit (@gcschmit) July 17, 2011
@bauerphysics @occam98 @awbikedaddy Progress is always towards perfection, but if perfection is the direct goal, you never meet it.—
Jenn Broekman (@jsb16) July 17, 2011
@gcschmit @occam98 @awbikedaddy Comfortable socks & comfortable shoes are a necessity!—
Jenn Broekman (@jsb16) July 17, 2011
@occam98 @awbikedaddy kids r same as u. Structure so u would do it if shoes were switched.—
Paul lulai (@Plulai) July 17, 2011
Encourage good study habits, but emphasise that it is consistency that wins the day and leads the way to avoid an immense degree of hardship later…
Focus your attention more on your students than on the material you have to deliver and remember that they really do want to learn, even though at times they do not get it right.
Recognise that students only really begin to learn when they turn their attention to why they have got something wrong. As a teacher, you need to enthuse about the benefits to be gained from analysing errors. Tests should be seen as a vital means of identifying the cracks in their understanding and, more importantly, of filling them. A student who has scored 100% has gained very little from the exercise.
Education is a voyage of discovery, which should enable students to learn about themselves as much as about the work of others; to realise their own potential. As teachers we have to create the right environment for this to happen.
Set attainable goals for your students. Students who focus on what they are unlikely to achieve will invariably under-perform. When the brain sees the exam as a threat, it will literally avoid the problem: we have all found ourselves reading a question, in a state of over-anxiety, only to discover that we are unable to recall what we have just read! In the past I have encouraged some students to try to complete only the first two parts of the questions, telling them that the latter parts are for “bonus points”. The boost in confidence that this approach stimulates, combined with the subsequent praise and encouragement, which should never be lacking, always leads to progress.
Robert—great advice. Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks for the post. I heard you speak at a KSU Noyce meeting and now that I have a job, I have a twitter account (thanks to your advice). I look forward to being able to follow some great physics teachers.
Congratulations! I hope you’ll join us for some future Atlanta Metro Physics Meetings.