Comment on Christopher Vocci's post:  its a good lesson.. even for experienced instructors

Comment on Michael Howe's post: very on point.

I believe both are crucial and tend to focus on the outcome. while it's true: assessing intrinsic strengths helps us give an idea how to supplement, my opinion is that extrinsic motivation can give more favorable results. 

I always try to throw softball questions until everyone is comfortable with the activities and methods I am trying to implement. 

set the tone and expectations in order to get maximum participation.

I personally enjoy active learning vs lecturing. this is where we can truly exercise academic freedom. even if sometimes not feasible, it helps break monotony if we sprinkle some changes in the class. 

my take away from this is to have a well prepared structure that is relevant to the objectives and in the field. If you have this, your class practically "writes itself"

its good to map out your lesson plan to the hour

in nursing, its assessment before implementation. assess student knowledge before blindly implementing your course

this is good content. be open to change, adjustment. the smaller the group, the easier to implement the adjustments you want to do.