Santos Lara

Discussion Comment

An Instructors influence on active learning

I had always considered the amount of influence an instructor can have on how a class can learn and facilitate learning. However, I never quite thought about how their own personal beliefs or thoughts can become a barrier. I can't imagine an instructor not caring at all if their students but I can see how an inexperienced instructor can be timid or not so confident in trying new approaches of facilitating learning. I was there once, I can admit, but am glad that I have been able to develop as an instructor to better service our students.

Santos Lara

Discussion Comment

Sharing is Caring

I think that after going through this course, and with New Year's coming up, I plan on finding better and more efficient coping mechanisms that I would like to have a partner with. For example, get a workout buddy, a walk to get some lunch buddy, a lets take 10-15 minutes to stretch buddy, and maybe even a let me vent to you real quick buddy. I would say that I do not do these activities enough myself and sharing the stress relief and time could possibly make it a bit more fun.

Santos Lara

Discussion Comment

The dreaded commute

For sometime while I was a part time instructor, I was commuting 2-3 hours daily and would always find myself in rush hours traffic in the afternoon. It was no fun and could honestly say that it was a stressor in my life that felt as if it got bigger and worse as time went on. After being offered a full time position and quitting my other part time job, my commute was reduced to 1 hour at the most on most days. There is a huge difference in how I feel, how I react, and how I present myself… >>>

Santos Lara

Discussion Comment

Finding more effective ways to asses knowledge

I find it interesting that some students, and I was very much bias before, prefer to take essay exams as opposed to multiple choice. I used to dislike multiple choice exams until I found better approaches to them. However, I am much more of a fan of short answer with multiple choice. For me personally, I feel that it challenges their knowledge enough to not only have to remember terms and definitions but also have to apply it in short answers. Though I will say that online learning structures with multiple choice does allow for more time to be placed… >>>

Santos Lara

Discussion Comment

Insecurity and Immediacy

I honestly never quite considered how much we take other's perception of us and how much it can indeed influence our time management. An example would be an unorganized desk, I am guilty of being able to be productive in a what may seem like unproductive environment. However, if someone mentions how it looks I may want to 'fix that immediately.' Though many other things need to get done, cleaning goes right to the top of the list. I noticed that happened a lot during exams while I was at UC Davis. There was a need to study, but even… >>>

Santos Lara

Discussion Comment

A New Found Understanding for Classroom Management

I know that my style has changed as I have gained more experience as an Instructor, but I never thought of myself as a controller, buddy, apathete, or guide. It is interesting to know that you can be a mixture of each one, do well, and still grow as time goes on. I have also found a new way to look at the way adult students would like to be managed, disciplined, and spoken to. I really appreciate the information and plan on applying as soon as tomorrow.