In reading the posts on this forum, it brought a question to my mind: If no two people "were more than 5 intermediaries apart" in the past (when concept was formulated; with the explosive growth of social networks, individuals belonging to multiple networks, and new technology / technological applications, has this number changed? Have any experts in social media ever tried to use the vast computer resources available in order to, at least, develop a "hypothetical" number based on probablility, mathematics and most likely even artifical intelligence? In my mind, it would seem that if we had two people, each… >>>

I have been fortunate enough to work for an individual who was an outstanding story-teller. He actually belonged to a story-telling group and would often use some of his colleagues for a group presentation that was centered around "stories". Bill could put together two or three stories that were specifically tailored to particular objectives and intent. It was quite a remarkable and entertaining experience to be an audience member. His stories would "involve" the audience because they were stories that everyone could identify with; and really "paint" a mental picture that involved the listeners almost as characters/observers in the story.… >>>

@ellythomas : It would depend on the personalities involved.  I would consider two of the following approaches; (1) Ask the students to leave the class room until they are ready to participate in a manner that is conducive to learning for all; (2) I would just stop teaching, look at the group, tell them that I will wait but that the class will still be responsible for all materials that I intended to cover.  Hopefully, the rest of the class would encourage them to behave appropriately; at least by "shhh"s.  The silence in the room except for the chatter from the… >>>

I am convinced that there are many students who are not even aware of the concept of learning styles - let alone which style works best for them. With every class, I usually have at least one or two students who are putting a great deal of time and effort into their studies at home and yet continue to struggle to try learn and retain material. Putting aside other factors (like learning disabilities, test anxiety, etc.), when I sit down with these students individually and ask them about their learning style(s), I have yet to find a student who could… >>>

The first class that I taught at a career college was an eye opener. One of the first mistakes that I made was assuming that since I was dealing with adults, my students would act like adults. Wrong! I've had classes of middle-school students who were better behaved and more respectful. While half of my class behaved as I would have expected, the other half put me through a "baptism by fire". As often happens, it was a case where one "bad apple" on the "challenging" side of the room strongly influenced others in her group. I doubt that there… >>>