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About me

Activity

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Discussion Comment
Testing Accommodations
A couple of techniques that have worked for students with disabilities in my classes are allowing breaks and extending the time for tests. I am thinking that putting a box around the text might be effective as well, as this module's readings suggest. Some students do test better in a room alone, and I have found that some folks perform better if they are alone and can read the information aloud. That has helped some of my students with reading disabilities in the past.
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Discussion Comment
Vivid Imagery and Figurative Language

Without a doubt, vivid language that allows students to visualize more clearly what we're trying to express during a lecture. I use anecdotes and metaphors whenever possible, because I do believe it makes lectures more memorable for students. This was a good module. It is important to give students a clear sense of where each class is going, and key points need to be repeated and reinforced. I had a teacher once in a history class who thought he was Teddy Roosevelt and jumped up on a table, a la charging up Kettle Hill, and I don't go to that… >>>

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Discussion Comment
Sharing Grades

In terms of assigning "weights" to various assignment types in my classes, the course syllabus spells out minimum and maximum limits within categories, but I do have a measure of flexibility. I tend to come down on the side believing that as my students get out into the "real world," they will be evaluated more on what they do on a daily basis, day-in and day-out, than they will on one particular day. Therefore, I like to assign as much weight as I can to class participation and homework assignments. As for sharing grades, the module recommends a couple of… >>>

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Discussion Comment
"Death by PowerPoint" :)

Our textbook comes with PowerPoint slides to accompany the material, but my students pretty much groan when I put those up on the board, because many of them have been "PowerPointed" to death. I think PowerPoint is a wonderful graphic tool, but I am finding my students often take the attitude: "Oh, not another one!" I have found some of the videos on the OpenCourseware sites to be valuable (along with streaming video), but those are not available for all content areas. My students in oral communications are required to use a visual aid, and most of them choose PowerPoint.… >>>

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Discussion Comment
The Good, the Bad, and the Organized
As this module points out, we should always seek improvement. When I first began teaching, I remember evaluating the "good" and the "bad" in my previous instructors (the "pros" and "cons"). I would have to say that the instructors who provided the most structure and organization, the ones who were prepared adequately for class, were the most successful. I have never tried a teaching journal per se, but I do make marks within my notes and outlines concerning what works and what doesn't. I honestly had never thought about using the colored paper.
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Discussion Comment
"No One In Here's Getting an 'A'"

:) I had some instructors walk into class and say that, and I will tell you that it is demoralizing from a student's perspective. I also had instructors tell us straight up, "Only one or two of you will make an 'A,'" or "The final grades in here will reflect a bell curve." As an educator, I avoid telling students anything like that. I am a believer in rewarding achievement and not just "giving out good grades" to be a peacemaker. However, I am also a believer that someone should have a fair opportunity to earn the grade he or… >>>

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Discussion Comment
"Relevance" and "Buying-In"

The adults I teach, most of whom are "returning to school" in an effort to improve their lives, really need to see that what they're doing will impact them positively in the future. Whether I am teaching speech, ethics, writing, or history, I try to present situations in which what they are learning will benefit them. As part of the first meeting, I discuss with them their chosen career paths and point out how things we will cover will "tie in," so to speak. Students in the writing courses, especially those students who have not taken an English class in… >>>

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1

1

About me

Activity

1
1
Discussion Comment
Testing Accommodations
A couple of techniques that have worked for students with disabilities in my classes are allowing breaks and extending the time for tests. I am thinking that putting a box around the text might be effective as well, as this module's readings suggest. Some students do test better in a room alone, and I have found that some folks perform better if they are alone and can read the information aloud. That has helped some of my students with reading disabilities in the past.
1
1
Discussion Comment
Vivid Imagery and Figurative Language

Without a doubt, vivid language that allows students to visualize more clearly what we're trying to express during a lecture. I use anecdotes and metaphors whenever possible, because I do believe it makes lectures more memorable for students. This was a good module. It is important to give students a clear sense of where each class is going, and key points need to be repeated and reinforced. I had a teacher once in a history class who thought he was Teddy Roosevelt and jumped up on a table, a la charging up Kettle Hill, and I don't go to that… >>>

1
1
Discussion Comment
Sharing Grades

In terms of assigning "weights" to various assignment types in my classes, the course syllabus spells out minimum and maximum limits within categories, but I do have a measure of flexibility. I tend to come down on the side believing that as my students get out into the "real world," they will be evaluated more on what they do on a daily basis, day-in and day-out, than they will on one particular day. Therefore, I like to assign as much weight as I can to class participation and homework assignments. As for sharing grades, the module recommends a couple of… >>>

1
1
Discussion Comment
"Death by PowerPoint" :)

Our textbook comes with PowerPoint slides to accompany the material, but my students pretty much groan when I put those up on the board, because many of them have been "PowerPointed" to death. I think PowerPoint is a wonderful graphic tool, but I am finding my students often take the attitude: "Oh, not another one!" I have found some of the videos on the OpenCourseware sites to be valuable (along with streaming video), but those are not available for all content areas. My students in oral communications are required to use a visual aid, and most of them choose PowerPoint.… >>>

1
1
Discussion Comment
The Good, the Bad, and the Organized
As this module points out, we should always seek improvement. When I first began teaching, I remember evaluating the "good" and the "bad" in my previous instructors (the "pros" and "cons"). I would have to say that the instructors who provided the most structure and organization, the ones who were prepared adequately for class, were the most successful. I have never tried a teaching journal per se, but I do make marks within my notes and outlines concerning what works and what doesn't. I honestly had never thought about using the colored paper.
1
1
Discussion Comment
"No One In Here's Getting an 'A'"

:) I had some instructors walk into class and say that, and I will tell you that it is demoralizing from a student's perspective. I also had instructors tell us straight up, "Only one or two of you will make an 'A,'" or "The final grades in here will reflect a bell curve." As an educator, I avoid telling students anything like that. I am a believer in rewarding achievement and not just "giving out good grades" to be a peacemaker. However, I am also a believer that someone should have a fair opportunity to earn the grade he or… >>>

1
1
Discussion Comment
"Relevance" and "Buying-In"

The adults I teach, most of whom are "returning to school" in an effort to improve their lives, really need to see that what they're doing will impact them positively in the future. Whether I am teaching speech, ethics, writing, or history, I try to present situations in which what they are learning will benefit them. As part of the first meeting, I discuss with them their chosen career paths and point out how things we will cover will "tie in," so to speak. Students in the writing courses, especially those students who have not taken an English class in… >>>

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