Thanks for the website to help develop effective power point presentations.

This is an interesting concept - I tried this last term and it worked wekk, although time was a cruncher. I will be more likely to continue this habit this term

I have had Guest Speakers come to my live College Success courses that I have taught. If I assigned a Project in an Excel course, for example, and a former student had a very organized and detailed project, I would ask them if they would be a Guest Speaker the next semester. It was a wonderful way to have students not only involved in their own classes but in classes that other students were enrolled in.

At times you have to go back to the beginning and start with the basics. You may have to put yourself in their shoes and see what thay see. You may fined that you have to teach things outside of the box to help put things back into prospective. People learn and study in different ways by books, training aids or both.

I have no choice but to give open book exams in Electrical Code classes. The text books even require "OPEN CODE BOOK' but the difference is that the actual text books used in class are not allowed to be used for the exam. The only book that the students are allowed to use for the exam is the "National Electrical Code". We are trying to prepare them to pass a "LICENSE" exam, in which understanding and how to use the code book is essential for passing and receiving their LICENSE. An "Open Book Exam" depends on the course and not opinions of OPEN BOOK in general.

Instructors need to be organized and prepared for their classes and students. I always try to be a step ahead. In drawing up my lesson plans, I try to have more information to go over (rather than less)and I also try to have an outline for lab time.

All of my students are in the health professions. A surgical technologist is not going to get credit for any late work and most likely they will be terminated. For that reason, i DO NOT OFFER ANY CREDIT FOR LATE WORK OR missed exams or quizzes!

I teach Medical Law and Ethics and while we do have a Review Challenge at the end of every chapter, we also do a lot of case studies and discussions. I have ben having difficulty deciding how to evaluate this since some students obviously participate more than others. I also am wary of giving those students that missed the discussions 0 points since it can be a major part of their grade, should I allow them to write their anwers to the case studies and give them some points or all the points?

When teaching culinary- it's hard to say "well that's only a B"- because it's very hard to define right and wrong sometimes. We have developed a system at our school that uses a 5 point grading system for EACH ITEM (some classes- each student may be required to produce upto 9 items a day, on their own- all which require individual grades) It's also hard because what may be too salty to me, may be perfect to someone else. I may prefer simple plate presentations, whereas other instructors prefer more elaborate plate presentations. Something such as the latter is up to the instructor to determine what the standard for the class to be. As for individual "cooking" evaluation- we have develped and are continually developing a "cleary exceeds expectations" grading system (the 1-5, 5 being the best) for example: Beef Stew: • Stew meat is cut (1” cubes) uniformly and trimmed of most visible fat • Meat is evenly caramelized and well seasoned • Meat is absolutely tender, but has maintained its shape • Sauce is deep brown, rich and flavorful • Stew has been seasoned properly • Stew has been thoroughly degreased • Potatoes, carrots and celery are cut precisely into ½” dice (cubes), are cooked tender and have maintained their shape • Good ratio of sauce (2 parts) and meat and garnish (1 part) • Peas are green and not brown • Sachet has been removed • Piping hot each 1-2 items wrong is up to 1 point off- Recieving a 1 on a dish requires that the dish should be made up at a "skills lab". Students are given the requirements of each dish and then repeated during demo. We have determined this to be a fair and practical way to grade students. (and successful)

"Students who really need extra credit rarely seek it and students who do extra credit work rarely need it." It always seems that "A" students are far more willing to do extra credit work than a borderline student whose grade might actually go up if they completed some extra credit. Why? Motivation. "A" students are motivated to do the work and other types of students often are not willing to do more than they have to, even if it means getting a lower grade. As a result, I no longer offer extra credit.

Students from developing nations may have considerably different expectations about their professors than American students. For example, they may not think that you were hired as the result of a competitive process or that you are particularly qualified to teach. If they come from countries where nepotism or bribery is the norm, they might think that you are their professor because your uncle got you this job or that you are paying a kickback to the Dean that hired you. For this type of student, convincing them that you are in fact qualified to teach might be your first task. Something to keep in mind.

Trust me when I tell you that there is probably a Youtube video over virtually every conceivable subject. Using a video to highlight your teaching is a technique that fits well with traditional students. Even bad videos can be educational--you can have your students research how they are wrong or use them as examples of bias, pseudo-science or slanting.

Using name cards and assigned seating for the first class is helpful for learning students' names. Just be sure to tell them that they will be able to pick their own seats after the first session!

I find it difficult to grade students in lab/shop; they may have a lab sheet to complete, but I observe those who hang back and let others do all the work and they simply fill in the blanks. I feel that they should not receive the same grade as those who get their hands dirty!

Being prepared and organized is an inherent part of teaching in order to be a role model to students. Other than having lessons plans prepared, handouts for the students, teaching according to the curriculum, and preparing the students to be successful for their chosen careers, how else can I be prepared?

Students are distracted when in class. Cell phones, Internet access and short attention span contribute to the hurdle an instructor must clear in an attempt disseminate the course material. PowerPoint slides can be a good solution to this problem if the presentation is colorful, contains relevant information, and incorporates short video clips (if available). Caution, all information, video, and audio used must be directly related to the current subject. Never forget that students are easily distracted, and you do not want your presentation to be a distraction.

The "Thinking Break" segments have been interesting.

extra curricular activities can be a useful avenue.

Use different approaches to engage students.