Regarding number 4, in my experience, it is better to invite guests as discussion participants rather than as speakers. This is more lively, and both the professor and the students get a chance to speak.
I fully agree with #15, but I would like to add that in rare cases, such as when, for some reason, most students are absent, or it is the last session of the semester, or a very significant event has occurred in the world, students may seek a guiding conversation or want to get to know the professor's personal views better. If, in such cases, the conversations are conducted appropriately, I would consider that professional behavior.
If a student is having trouble with a concept, don't say "this is easy" cos that makes them feel stupid, or "yes, this is difficult" cos that's encouragement to give up. Say something like... what?
18: don't you get into a long argument about Plato having stolen the idea from Tolkein? :)
On a more serious note: the class might take this as lead-in to discussing sexual abuse and the complexities of consent (you don't know how they were primed by previous classes). Going round the girls and asking their views could raise eyebrows.
I know you didn't mean this, but nobody's going to ask you. Blokes have to be so careful.
Not sure that #10 is correct. If you still remember something you got wrong all this time later, maybe the negative reinforcement described (even if not in the exact form described here) can be helpful in teaching. For instance, law school teachers still commonly cold-call on students in ways that can be embarrassing if the student is unprepared. This both has a deterrence effect of causing students to study more diligently to ward off embarrassment and also, anecdotally at least, the effect of searing the actual subject discussed in an embarrassing cold call into the student's brain.
There is a contradiction, but if you're too anxious to teach successfully, then, well, you shouldn't be yourself! You need to get your problem fixed. If a therapist does the trick and you have the time and money, great, but if drugs work, that's fine too.
So, one missing idea, a parallel one to knowing and being yourself:
Know your students - and use that knowledge to both teach them and their classmates more effectively.
Some students want to be know-it-alls; a little humility (and perhaps curiosity?) can be brought about by asking them to explain an idea that seems simple but actually has much hidden depth. A quiet student, who does not have a need to bring their thoughts forth, can make an excellent evaluator of the ideas brought up first by other students. A distracted student can be the point of a little gentle humor to relax them and get their attention back to the work. One can read, out loud, the excellent work of a diligent but shy student (but without attribution,) pointing out how sharp the class as a unit is. A student who has had some sort of problems in their personal life can be given a little slack to fade into the background sometimes.
But to do any of the above, to give the lectures more worth than merely reading out of the book, you must have an eye to learning your class as well as teaching them. People who feel cared for as individuals are more likely to learn.
As per your caveat to #8. I get it, but I often find that a fear of not being seen as authoritative often backfires. Its like when someone else tries to be respected, its hard to respect that person for respect demanded. I think many persons are off put by persons in positions of authority over them that have a chip in their shoulder. I've come across a few persons over-compensating, and it doesn't seem to work. Secondly, one doing that might reinforce their own anxiety by assuming the stereotype threat. Better to just to be confident (not too confident), and be yourself.
Regarding number 4, in my experience, it is better to invite guests as discussion participants rather than as speakers. This is more lively, and both the professor and the students get a chance to speak.
I fully agree with #15, but I would like to add that in rare cases, such as when, for some reason, most students are absent, or it is the last session of the semester, or a very significant event has occurred in the world, students may seek a guiding conversation or want to get to know the professor's personal views better. If, in such cases, the conversations are conducted appropriately, I would consider that professional behavior.
If a student is having trouble with a concept, don't say "this is easy" cos that makes them feel stupid, or "yes, this is difficult" cos that's encouragement to give up. Say something like... what?
18: don't you get into a long argument about Plato having stolen the idea from Tolkein? :)
On a more serious note: the class might take this as lead-in to discussing sexual abuse and the complexities of consent (you don't know how they were primed by previous classes). Going round the girls and asking their views could raise eyebrows.
I know you didn't mean this, but nobody's going to ask you. Blokes have to be so careful.
Not sure that #10 is correct. If you still remember something you got wrong all this time later, maybe the negative reinforcement described (even if not in the exact form described here) can be helpful in teaching. For instance, law school teachers still commonly cold-call on students in ways that can be embarrassing if the student is unprepared. This both has a deterrence effect of causing students to study more diligently to ward off embarrassment and also, anecdotally at least, the effect of searing the actual subject discussed in an embarrassing cold call into the student's brain.
#12: Using drugs for public speaking anxiety is bad advice.
It directly contradicts #6: Be yourself.
And it directly contradicts best practice for treatment of public speaking anxiety: Exposure and Response Prevention.
Be yourself. Get a good therapist. Then tell your students how you managed to overcome public speaking anxiety by developing new skills.
I like all the others!
There is a contradiction, but if you're too anxious to teach successfully, then, well, you shouldn't be yourself! You need to get your problem fixed. If a therapist does the trick and you have the time and money, great, but if drugs work, that's fine too.
Not sure about #19 ;)
So, one missing idea, a parallel one to knowing and being yourself:
Know your students - and use that knowledge to both teach them and their classmates more effectively.
Some students want to be know-it-alls; a little humility (and perhaps curiosity?) can be brought about by asking them to explain an idea that seems simple but actually has much hidden depth. A quiet student, who does not have a need to bring their thoughts forth, can make an excellent evaluator of the ideas brought up first by other students. A distracted student can be the point of a little gentle humor to relax them and get their attention back to the work. One can read, out loud, the excellent work of a diligent but shy student (but without attribution,) pointing out how sharp the class as a unit is. A student who has had some sort of problems in their personal life can be given a little slack to fade into the background sometimes.
But to do any of the above, to give the lectures more worth than merely reading out of the book, you must have an eye to learning your class as well as teaching them. People who feel cared for as individuals are more likely to learn.
As per your caveat to #8. I get it, but I often find that a fear of not being seen as authoritative often backfires. Its like when someone else tries to be respected, its hard to respect that person for respect demanded. I think many persons are off put by persons in positions of authority over them that have a chip in their shoulder. I've come across a few persons over-compensating, and it doesn't seem to work. Secondly, one doing that might reinforce their own anxiety by assuming the stereotype threat. Better to just to be confident (not too confident), and be yourself.