Knowing that even experienced instructors will make mistakes.  Taking note of mistakes as they occur and how they were corrected and reviewing these mistakes to learn from them and improve. 

Learning how to deal with the different types of students was helpful.  I am not a confrontational person to begin with and so having clear strategies to use is helpful in preparing to teach my first course. 

I think in this day and age where so many lectures are presented via PowerPoint and students often follow along on their laptops and iPads, I can see how there may be so many inattentive students.  The idea of self reflection is important to ensure that I am presenting material in an informative but engaging way and also getting feedback from these students on what can help them become more engaged would be helpful. 

The discussion of course requirements and expectations is critical on the first day and within the syllabus.  Students need to know how to meet course requirements and expectations which can help them be successful in your course. 

Instructor mistakes will happen, but it does not have to be the final resting place. Using humor to identify a mistake you made, allow the students to understand you are human and relieve the idea that they must be perfect to succeed. One of the biggest benefits to avoiding mistakes are being prepared and organized.

Managing challenging students is not an easy task, but setting expectations in the beginning will help prevent confusing; however, if there is some that resist you must be willing to take the necessary steps to rectify the situation.

It is important to know the characteristics of the students in the class, so as the instructor I will know what specific strategies will be effective in moving the student forward.

By review and orienting the students to the syllabus, calendar and class expectation, help alleviate anxiety and sets the environment for success.  Create a class that is open to learning and working together from day one which allows awareness of their value to the class. 

Have a plan, be prepared and be able to adapt to fix mistakes.

I learned to listen to the angry student and allow them to be part of deciding the solution.