I have taught Electrical courses (Intro courses through NEC) at a community college since 2009. My basic suggestions.
1. Intuitively teach the fundamentals and the terminology. EX. Make sure they know the relationship between Voltage, Current, Resistance, and Power. Use many analogies. I ask leading questions. How do tasers not kill with 50,000V? Why does the utility use such high voltages? Why do traditional cars use 12v? How does that affect conductor size? Make sure they understand those fundamentals or questions like them. Its not the question that matters but the ability to recognize the conceptual relationship. It will carry over when understanding conductors, OCP, GFCI, etc.. Don't use formal definitions until they understand the concepts. Reading the definition of a Volt is useless if they cant intuitively understand it. The whole water pressure analogy is a good beginner analogy that I use with a caveat letting them know this is for beginner understanding only. Later, concepts like the principle of induction are important. and they build from there..... ELI the ICE man for voltage lead current in induction, etc.... Current leads in capacitive. Why does the code use VA instead of just watts?
2. Stay focused on the principals you want them to understand at the moment and when stuff pops into your brain don't wander off down a rabbit hole. Instead stop, explain there is more to it that you can get back to later. If they ask or get curious, about additional details explain it to a point then come back to your focus and figure out how to incorporate the more advance question later in the class when the whole class is prepared to digest it. We have a lot of knowledge and when someone asks a question it's easy to want to throw up all the knowledge you have, but that often times just helps one and confuses or bores others. If a student is advanced and wants to ask more advanced questions great. I entertain it to a point in class and then address that before, after or during break.
3. If you will teach the same course several times, putting stuff online and or creating test online is helpful for the student and you. Blackboard or Canvas are some tools school use. If you have access it may be worth it if you will teach the course again. For example. My test are graded the instant they push the submit button.
4. I use Mikes videos whenever it makes sense. For example grounding and NEV. I use to like Mikes old pool video. Too bad that came down.
My supervisor does not prefer Mike H stuff, but I do, so I definitely convey that and show the class Mikes site and resources.
5. Be fair but professional. I start on time. Some may be late for good reasons, others less so. Use good judgement. Some want to call me "professor" . I tell them I am not professing anything, I am just teaching you about the Electrical profession.
6. Make an accurate and fairly detailed syllabus. It helps me stay on pace and keeps me from forgetting to cover certain things.
7. After tests review the questions, especially those that were missed most often.
8. Even when you go over something and nobody has any questions. expect that they will. Its normal and natural. For thing you know they will miss drive the point home. For example in the basic intro course, I always tell my students to write this down and repeat it three times "travelers connect to travelers". When wiring 3 and 4 way circuits for the first time they always mess up the common and travelers or just be confused as to where to start. If confused, then process of elimination. Start with what you know to be true. If they wire it but it's not right or doesn't work and its because of miswired travelers Ill just say "travelers". Lots of examples like this. They may understand the concept but haven't made the connection to reality. Have patience at first and then at a certain point expect errors like that to not happen. Even in the NEC course many are not as knowledgeable as they should be and big concept can be missed.
9. Hands on demos are helpful. I did more in my early years than I do now simply out of laziness. Examples include using water and salt to demonstrate conductivity and explain the nature of electricity. Voltage current, resistance. I know it's dangerous but I have put my hand in a bucket of water with an extension cord. Not to be a dare devil but to really teach them the misconceptions of what many people have with electricity. I am not macho about it. I respect it like a gun, and I explain that. When doing labs, if a light is running on the circuit, Ill trip the gfci with a bare piece of copper to demonstrate the current path and why the GFCI trips. I do this after verifying the the circuit is properly wired. They didn't reverse hot and neutral, etc....
10. Use all of the things you used to learn or the Aha moments you had that cleared things up. I Joined this forum in 2000, and when I did I spent hours a day reading the whole forum and learning about things I didn't even understand at the time but would come across later. I explain that to my students. If they really want to learn read Mikes forum, ask questions, and be the professional electrician everyone wants, needs, and desires.
