Barry Westling

Hi Dianne: Good preparation does take time, effort, thought, and planning. Accepting responsibility to teah requires good preparation and organization. It's interesting, organized teachers take time to prepare, but actually save time that be applied to the class in various instructional activities. On the contrary, disorganized teachers who are unprepared (due to time) end up wasting a lot of otherwise valuable time. I prefer to get my stuff in order and be ready for...whatever comes that day (hopefully my planned lesson)! Regards, Barry

Hi Robin: Part of the responsibilities of good teachers is good organization and preparation. Along with resources and materials, teaching aids and media choices, the well prepared teacher is positioned to deliver a good solid, sequential and logical order class. The atmosphere will be calm, relaxed and smooth, which is conducive to better learning. Organization provides time that can be used for Q&A, discussion, more emphasis, and increased engagement. The less prepared teacher actually wastes time looking for materials, thashing throgh papers, generally hectic and disorganized. Quite a difference between the two. Regards, Barry

Hi Marivic: Very true. Students really don't mind evaluations if they help demonstrate progress. (It's the poor grades some students don't care for!). In fact, more frequent evaluations are better than just a few quizzes and a test. Of course, some of that advice is based on how long the course is. But we do have a great opprtunity to offer encouragement and supporive suggestions after we give an evaluation and as we're reviewing the assessment, convey to students a caring, kind, and sincere teacher willing to help their students to be successful. Regards, Barry

Hi Marivic: For me, good back up plans are activities that can be intiated on relatively short notice, are generally related to the course topic, are very low tech, and engage the students so they don't feel like we're just filling up time. When technolgy is not a problem, internet sraches or discovering links to pertinent calss informaion can be a good activity when you have an extra 20 minutes before class ends, or when some students are waiting for other students to complete another activity. As you allude to, discussion is always agreat back-up activity, too. Regards, Barry

Hi Jennifer: Good answer! When we can begin to appreciate something thart makes sense to us individually - such as wanting to know "why" vs "how", we've come a step closer to understanding something that makes better as teachers and as individuals. That makes us appear more natural and confident and, I think students are more comfortable with teachers who understand themselves in this manner. Regards, Barry

Hi Meron: Sure, that's one use, and some teachers find that useful. There are other uses as well. Look through some of the posts in this forum for additional ideas if you're interested. Regards, Barry

Hi Meron: Absolutely! Classes that have a passion and enthusias by the teacher, who is natural and approachable, and competent and confident in their delivery will make classes more interesting and enjoyable. And the environment will be smooth, relaxed, and comfortable. This will make for imporved learning. Regards, Barry

Hi Meron: Yes, skilled workers is an outcome. Forme, student learning outcomes (SLO's) are the "WHAT" it is that the student will learn, as contrasted to the "HOW" the student get that knowledge through the course objectives. Your daily lesson plans, resources, lectures and exercises, all these things go into meeting the course objectives which, if met will achieve the SLO's. Learning, knowledge, and skills can all be defined in the SLO's. Regards, Barry

Hi Lynn: Your school has that policy for a reason. I don't know what it is but is among the majority of colleges that have adopted similar policies, probably mostly attributed to avoiding accusations of unfair classroom practices. Let's make the assumption that learning is the purpose. If the class is averaging low, then what about some remediation, tutoring, or review, then repeat the test (or one similar). In this instance, no extra credit is given, just extra instruction. Voila! Class average improves, and students have earned every darned point on their own. Regards, Barry