Please Help-Case Study

An agency was contracted to provide an instructor at a Training Center to certify students to work in a high demand field. The students have varying degrees of academic skills, usually on the low side.

Once hired and in the classroom, Training Center heard student and staff complaints that  the instructor was only lecturing and that the students were complaining and very bored. He was going too fast with no regard to how students were integrating the information.

The agency talked its instructor, suggesting several ways to differentiate instruction, refer students to remediation when needed, and to provide variety in how he delivered the materials. Nothing has changed. The instructor insists on teaching the way he was taught. Everyone is afraid that if they push too hard, the instructor will leave. The agency has no one else to replace this instructor since no one else in the region is certified or qualified to teach the course. It is too late to cancel the class.

What are your recommendations? Your help is needed! Thanks, Leecy

Comments

Hi Leecy, Not sure if there's a budget for it, but it seems like the teacher might need a co-teacher or asst teacher who works with him/her daily to strategize and implement ways to make the class more interactive. If the idea were presented to the instructor in a way that respected his/her expertise and was framed seen as giving a "new" or less experienced teacher (or even a student teacher!) a way to gain more experience, the instructor might be open to it.... Best, Alison

Alison, thanks for the good suggestion. The Center did assign one of its highly experienced adult-ed teachers to attend the classes and offer suggestions and tutoring if deemed necessary. (To me, this was a misuse of time.) As you might expect, there was strong  resistance to having another teacher attend every class and to offer suggestions.

As per your note, I will recommend that a less-threatening person might work with the teacher, bringing in ideas and offering to do different things to even relieve the teacher at times. I'll pass on your idea! As I always say, "We learn what we teach!" :) Leecy