We have seen that having a midterm exam can help refocus and renew energies in the classroom by instructors and students. What other ways do we have to turn assessments into learning opportunities and/or motivation tools?

I agree. That is very often the case. It is true that some adults offer a great deal of resistance to being asked to pair up with other classmates. However, I have discovered that sometimes, if not pressured, they can ease into teamwork activities to some degree. I admit that sometimes it has happened by accident; other times I have managed to create an environment in which they feel comfortable reaching out to there classmates. By paying attention to the circumstances in which collaboration has been the result, I have been able to have a strategy to at least try… >>>

This is a great question. I always make it a point to learn all the names in the first class meeting. By the end of the class, as I present a previewof what the next session will be about, I say something like "It has been my pleasure to welcome all of you to my class" and then I say everybody's name. I always bring a seating chart to the first class, one that would allow me to assign names to each spot. As I ask each student to introduce themselves, I write their names on their place in the… >>>