Using a mix of approaches to reach various learning styles will give you the biggest opportunity for students' retention and comprehension of information. Something that really stood out for me was in that video, the instructor said in the first 2 weeks of taking a class, your students ARE their classroom comments. So he suggested you need to be empathetic to the students right away and make them feel supported in what they say. One way of doing that is having them expand on a comment. Another way is to praise them at the end of class on their way… >>>

Students have a variety of learning styles and short attention spans. Therefore it is best to plan lectures with a variety of delivery methods to keep their interest and give them the best chance of absorbing and then later applying the information.

I liked the order that was layed out as to how to conduct a first class. It seemed to make a lot of intuitive sense. I have never taught before and had already planned on doing some of the "get to know you" things with students but also establish myself and my experience to the students so they know who I am and what I have to offer them.

I liked the analogy of the core concepts as being the trunk of a tree and any additional info is the branches. That way you remember to always bring everything back to the important core concepts.

Reply to Thelma Ailsworth's post: really that does seem to be the big takeaway here. I'm new to teaching myself but luckily have been a lifelong learner myself. So yes, super important to keep in mind!

It stressed the importance of planning and being knowledgable about every aspect of the industry you're teaching. Make a plan to always try to improve, assess, keep up to date with changes in requirements, keep in mind retention and replacement, and join professional organizations for support. Mostly though I got out of this to be excited about what you teach and that is one of the key things that will motivate your students to want to continue to learn.