The open door to the classroom is just down the hall on the left. Students are starting to file into the room, and you work your way down the hall to join them as you start to feel an emotional mix of excitement and trepidation. Today is the first day of school—time for you to learn new things, meet new people, and feel totally uncomfortable until you get your bearings. Students know these feelings very well, but you’re a faculty member. You’re above these concerns, aren’t you? Not necessarily! Even the most experienced instructors can get butterflies when meeting a new group of students, and new faculty are even more likely to have first-day jitters.
Partners in Nursing is aiding new faculty this month in our “back to school” issue. We’ve consulted with experienced peers and have a host of tips to help new faculty get acclimated. Whether a brand new faculty member or an experienced faculty person teaching in a new environment, you’ll find advice that will help you succeed on many levels.
After all, not only do you need to have impactful lesson plans, but you also need to connect with your students and fellow faculty, and you need to keep your own advancement in focus. You have a lot to cope with, and while it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day details, you also need to keep your eye on growing in your role and in your career.
Have a tip of your own to share? Please click on the following link to submit your tip. We’ll be doing a follow-up article in a future issue, and your tip can help more new faculty! Click here for Teaching Tips for New Faculty
Success on the first day begins before the first day
Every expert we spoke with made preparation the top priority. “Everyone organizes differently,” says Teak Nelson, PhD, RN, NP-C, Associate Professor of Nursing at Truman State University in Missouri. “Fly-by-night may work for some people, but not for most. Know yourself and your habits, and plan your prep accordingly,” she advises. “Definitely put your time in,” adds Carol Patterson, RN, MSN, CNE, Associate Professor at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey. For every hour you’ll spend in the classroom, you’ll spend “at least three to hours preparing,” she explains. “You want a comfortable command,” she continues. “What are the possible questions students will have based on the way in which you’ve provided information? You need to think ahead to anticipate what questions will come up,” she emphasizes.
Nelson also points out that it’s crucial to know where your class is with regards to the nursing program curriculum so you can plan your lecture according to the students’ point of reference, and you definitely need to have your syllabus set. “The syllabus is similar to a contract standard. Absence and testing policies are important, and students need to know the rules on the first day,” she stresses.
Preparation also means that you need to know your surroundings. “Know how to use your room and the technology,” says Patterson. “As a nurse I need to know how to use the ventilator before I use it on a patient,” she reminds us. “Knowing how the technology works in your room in no different.” Nelson adds, “Know where the building and room are. What passwords, keys or access do you need? How do you operate the lighting system and computer?” In addition to physical resources, Nelson also notes that new faculty “needs to identify resources like people and services. Who is my IT contact? Who is the department secretary? Where do I send students if they need help with certain things?” Make sure everything works the way you want it to work before you first class,” emphasizes Patterson.
Now the first day is here!
“Remember to take into account that what you’re doing is important,” notes Patterson. “You are responsible for helping to teach the next generation of nurses,” she reminds us. “Butterflies are ok, and you won’t be in control of everything, so it may not be perfect, but you need to be a responsible professional,” she says.
Setting the right tone for the class is so important, and there is an art to the balance of being a teacher and mentor. “Start strict and soften as the semester goes on,” recommends Nelson. “It’s easier to set rules in the beginning by starting strong,” she continues, but that doesn’t mean teachers shouldn’t be human. “When I introduce myself I don’t start with the professional info; I tell students something about myself,” Nelson says.
That human element helps when it comes to the issue of names. “I am name challenged,” confesses Nelson. Our experts agree that learning names for 60 – 80 students is extremely difficult, and classroom management tips for these large groups differ from management tips for smaller groups of 25 students. For large classes, Nelson has each student fill out a note card on the first day with basic contact info, “but then I ask them to also write down something interesting about themselves,” she says. “My students are people outside of the classroom, and I like to get to know them, not socially, but as a whole person,” she adds.
When she collects the note cards, she makes a point of immediately learning two or three names in the first class (and she makes sure the students are scattered in the class). About halfway through the first class, she addresses those students by name. “Students now think I know everyone’s names,” she says with a smile. “They quickly learn that’s not the case, but they definitely appreciate the effort, and they know I’m working hard to learn as many names as I can,” she says.
“In a group of 80 students [learning names] is going to be tough,” concurs Patterson. “Engagement is important. Every time I engage with a student I use the student’s name….even if I have to apologize first because I have to ask for the student’s name. I then use the name again.”
“For a smaller group I often find that a seating chart helps,” says Patterson. Both Patterson and Nelson point out that students tend to sit in the same seats, so the seating chart is not assigned seating, but rather a recording of who’s sitting where for reference.
“For quieter students who may not engage in class I try to talk to them after class, or when I see them in the hall or cafeteria,” adds Patterson. “Light engagement outside the class works best for some students,” she suggests.
One fear all instructors have is not knowing something. “You won’t be able to answer every question, but you can be competent and honest,” Patterson says. “It’s okay to say, ‘I’m not sure,’’’ Patterson and Nelson both assure new faculty, “but you need to do the research and get back to the student. Be ethical! Don’t make up an answer just to have something to say,” they advise.
And if you trip yourself up? “It’s ok to take a breath,” Patterson says. “I’ve already had to say to students, ‘I got so excited that I lost my train of thought,’” she continues. “The students laugh, I get to catch my breath, and we move forward together!”
Contributors
Pamela Gardner, MSN, RN, graduated from Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts with a BSN and began her career in the Neonatal ICU at Johns Hopkins. She and her husband then moved to Missouri where she worked in Iowa as director of a community OB department. She received her MSN (maternal/child and education) from the University of Missouri in 2000. She taught at Missouri’s only public liberal arts and sciences institution, Truman State University, from 2000 – 2011. In 2008 she received the school’s Educator of the Year Award and the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Higher Education. She joined Kaplan full time in 2010 as a Nursing School Consultant.
Teak E. Nelson, PhD, RN, NP-C, graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia with a BSN; received her MS in Community Health Nursing from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and her PhD from the University of Missouri, Columbia. She is currently an Associate Professor of Nursing at Truman State University where her teaching emphasis is pharmacology, nutrition, and pediatric nursing; her research emphasis areas are breastfeeding and weaning decision-making, simulation, and service learning. She has worked in OB, Pediatrics, Med-Surg, Women’s Health and Primary Care.
Carol Patterson, MSN, RN, CNE, graduated with an AAS/RN from Middlesex County College, Jersey City, NJ, and later received her BSN from Jersey City State College. She began her teaching career at the Charles E Gregory School of Nursing at the Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, NJ. She received her MSN from Seton Hall University in 1985, and her Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from Rutgers University in 2003. She has been an associate professor at Raritan Valley Community College since 1990 and has served as the Coordinator of Foundations in Nursing and the Coordinator of the PN to RN Option. She also worked per diem at the JFK Medical Center, Brain Trauma Center in Edison, NJ for 18 years. She received the NJ League for Nursing President’s Award in 1999, is a five-year recipient of Who’s Who among American Teachers in America, and in 2005 was awarded the American Nursing Association’s Electronic Media Award for “Professor Nightengale’s Test Taking Strategies for Nursing Students.” She is the 2012 President for the NJ League for Nursing.
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