This course was a comprehensive guide to improving teaching pedagogy. Every aspect gave actionable and clear methods to incorporate in the classroom. One of my biggest takeaways was the importance of preparation and care for students. Often academics strip their students of their humanity instead of meeting them where they are and understanding that each student comes into the classroom with lived experiences and intersectionalities. As educators, we need to prioritize making students feel safe and comfortable in the learning environment. That includes making a real connection with students, remembering their names, and more. I include various ice breakers in… >>>

In the first class meeting I give each student an index card and they write their names and the reason why they are taking my class and their favorite things. Then each student will speak to the class of what they have written on the card. The students and I get to know each of them.

Academic Planning is key to running a successful classroom 

it's a balance between bringing your own personal style and personality to the table with content delivery. Effectively balancing both can have dynamic results

I was surprised at how much of this I already use in the classroom. It still helps to be flexible and adjust your methods to improve learning with the students.

Heading back to teach nursing students is a passion of mine to mold future nurses. It is great for the students to know that we care about their learning, struggles and achievements. 

I appreciated the resources hyperlinked.

Action Plan: Effective Use of Open and Closed Questions in Class

Enhance student participation and foster deep understanding of content through strategic use of questions.

Best Practices:

• Review the material and learning objectives before the class.
• Identify key points that can be addressed through open and closed questions.
• Begin the class with an open question that stimulates reflection and discussion.
• Encourage students to share their ideas, opinions, and prior knowledge.
• Utilize closed questions to clarify concepts or assess factual knowledge.
• These questions are useful for verifying immediate understanding.
• Following a closed question, pose an open question that encourages discussion and

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Modeling and teaching positive attitudes such as integrity, caring, empathy and compassion

Storytelling 

I like the website  "theteacherscorner.net" to create crossword puzzles and matching column activities and have the students complete them after the lecture to reinforce the information. 

My first day, I like to open with an ice-braker. A good one is, you have the students to tell 2 truths and 1 lie, and the rest of the class have to guess, which is a lie. The students really get a kick out of it. Another one is icebreaker questions like; what day in your life would you like to relive? What was dream job as a kid? just to name a few. Icebreaker help students to participate and transition into learning experiences.

I am new to this and I will try my best to learn from others.

Provide an environment that is conducive to learning. 

I completed an intensive course on Rubrics a couple of years ago and tried to utilize them in some of my assignments. However, I may have missed the suggestion, but I never really thought about using rubrics for course evaluation. I will be developing formative ones for each of my courses.

I have had many of my practices reinforced during this course. However, I can see some of the ways in which I could improve my current practice.

For example, I will be developing a Learning Plan as part of my portfolio for each course. This will help the students to understand the experience and have buy-in early in the course. I believe it will enhance the lesson planning process, especially, the assessment/evaluation step. 

I will also be working to develop some case studies based on the criteria offered here to enhance the retention and thinking skills of my students. I… >>>

As I was arguing with myself about the differences in my own classroom among students born in the United States, I arrived at the slide which included the subcultures in the continental US. I will be using some of this information in my classroom orientation to help my students identify reasons they might not want to participate in some group assignments. They are not aware of why they think differently, but it poses a challenge to try to accommodate all those differences and negotiate a successful assignment. So, thank you for that slide. It would be helpful to include some… >>>

It is a paradigm shift to go from being a student to being a facilitator. The acquisition of knowledge and the many exams we take in preparation to teach is in direct contrast to the role we have to play in the modern classroom. We are constrained by standards and time frames and pacing guides. It is a mindset that I will continue to work on changing.

As a new instructor I plan on engaging my students with small group exercises that keep them questioning the content they have learned.

clear presentation focus in the action plan is the key for success