In this episode, Rob and Jared chat with (Ret.) Lt. General Loren Reno, Professor of Management and Senior Advisor to the Office of the President at Cedarville University. Check out the episode to hear how he uses servant teaching to encourage and inspire students.
General Reno’s goal as an educator is to serve. He seeks to inspire his students instead of attempting to control their involvement in the learning process since educators can intrinsically motivate students through inspiration. With this foundation, General Reno provides several traits of a servant teacher:
- Listening – listening to the needs of students both in class and outside of class. General Reno shares his cell phone number with his students to help alleviate potential stress students have over assignments or course content
- Modeling – modeling the content, modeling affirmation, modeling high standards, modeling leadership
- Encouraging/Giving feedback – inspiring students to do better through the feedback you give them in assignments and during class participation
All these principles are based on approaching teaching with humility. General Reno shares that there are several ways that pride can be a barrier for teachers to acting in humility. In order to overcome this obstacle, teachers should give attention to their students, rather than placing attention on themselves.
General Reno challenges educators to know the needs of students, meet those needs, and show students that they care. When students feel that an educator cares, they are more willing to engage with class sessions and the content.
Resources
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