I state what I expect at beginning of each class that I teach. If they are late, so many points are taken off. If they miss a test , so many points are taken off and a different version is given as well.

Since our academy does not offer pre- pretest, we find it hard to know how much of an education they have until maybe mid course. However, we offer a pre-test on the material that they will be learning.It's not till later that we learn that some cannot comprehend just the readng or math to say. This makes teaching a little difficult. I do not rush through the material. My quote is "leave no one behind" but sometimes I have no choice when its 2 days later and they still have not gotten the material. I do an early evaluation and have the Program Director involved to help out.

Do you think powerpoint presentations are losing some luster?

I have had such a positive experience, how about you?

I try to get grades back to students as quickly as possible. I sometimes even email their grades to them as long as it is allowed by the school.

When students come into our classroom for the first time, they may feel intimidated, unprepared or even unsure (of the surroundings, the new instructor or new classmates). We often have students from all walks of life, of different ages and educational backgrounds. As an instructor, it is up to us provide an environment that they feel they can learn at ease. Having a plan 'a' and a plan 'b' to customize to the students makes sense as not everyone is created the same. Plan 'b' also helps to bring the off-focus students back in check. I often create Q&A games every few weeks in order to determine the progress of their learning and in so doing, I can see if my teaching methods are on track as well. Every so often, when I have students who are fast learners, I may run out of content; but from now on, I will get ready trays of different products that I can test them as a 'Product ID' evaluation. This will in turn, help reinforce the mateial they have been taught in class.

This is an interesting module. I recently had a class, where due to my own experience, I wanted to avoid overwhelming the students. My approach was in two parts. First, I copied the format of another instructor for a previous class; this included the assignments and quiz and test schedule. Second, I used the quiz and test items from the publishers accompanying test bank. I was careful to use a combination of easy, moderate, and one difficult question for every quiz and test. In spite of the efforts, the students complained that the assignments required far more time than any other class and the tests were too hard. Anyone have any thoughts they can share in my approach to classes?

Teaching IT, Is it better to be a Learn By Doing Instructor or would another Teaching Style be More Successful?? Is the CourseName a Descriptor for the type of Successful Instructor???

I have to admit i think power points can be a little boring at times. I don't use it. I use the white board, handouts and student interaction.

So funny..Since I started taken students on field trips, they use they that word as a way of saying we need a brain break.. and it works..! Field trips for us are really big. It takes at least 3 hours to do one from start to finish. To see their eyes and hear their questions makes it even more exciting for me.

I like all the pointers on the different medias we can use in a classroom. I am especially prone to the white board. I always make sure I have different colored pens to write, highlight, draw or emphasize any particular subject matter. One corner will be used for writing: Subject of the Day Date Timeline The rest of the board will be used during my lecture, to emphasize important topics and also to help out in student spelling, etc. I only write the bullets of what I will be lecturing on, while the class takes notes on what I teach. The white board allows me to draw pictures and illustrations as well. I think a mixture of media is also key to keeping the attention of the students.

I used to be a combination of Drill Sargent and Socratic when I was a trainer, about 20 years ago, in my other line of work. Then when I first started teaching at culinary, I was still somewhat of a Drill Sargent, but as the years went by, I honed myself to teach people in a classroom who were of different age groups, life-styles and with different past experiences. Now I am more of a combination of Socratic and Dead Poets. But at certain times, I think, depending on the situation and the needs, the Drill Sargent comes into play and is effective in situations that require it. Observing other instructors in their classrooms is a very interesting and valuable tool as you see what to do and what not to do. We never stop learning and recording yourself teaching is also a great learning tool.

I find that a lot of students really just hate taking tests? Can you conduct a class without them?

I have a few students who are just 10 times behind the other students. I think a lot of times they feel too dumb or behind to ask a questions. I have told them to come see me after class but have still heard nothing???

Do you have a max number of slides that you think are good for a powerpoint?

Does anyone ever think that a field trip to something outside of the students direct course of study is a good idea?

Extra credits are only allowed after all the regular progects are completed ahead of time and the student wants to do extra work.

Having a backup plan does not only happen in school. It can also happen at work. When I first started working for a doctor's office, it just so happened that the area would always be hit by a thunderstorm that would cause power surge or power fluctuations or worse, even a blackout. Having a backup plan would always prove handy in cases of emergency. The same thing in class. If the PowerPoint machine does not work, it is good to have a backup plan with making the students follow your lecture by having their textbook open and highlight or write notes as we go along. Sometimes we also will be transferred to a lecture room because there is an immediate need for the computer room. I explain to the students that we have to transfer to the lecture room and since we have no access with the computers, we will do the lectures instead and catch up tomorrow with the computer work. I always assure the students not to worry we will have time to catch up. With regards coding practices, I always have coding exercises available for the students to practice on if they are not clear with some coding guidelins. By having a backup plan, the student will not even notice that there was a chang of plan and that it is business as usual.

I like to use guest speaker from the field in which the student will be going into after they finish their degree, It helps engage them and helps them to understand the diversity in the health care field..

Since our school provides the grading system, I will not discuss the system but instead how I feel about the tests that are given to the students. I believe that tests and quizzes are given to the students not only to measure what they know but most importantly is to know where they might need help. Testing on their basic knowledge and then gving them a little bit more challenging questions will help students think and be challenged. It helps me also to evaluate myslef how I did in teaching them what they are suppose to know. I am not sure if I will agree with make up tests if they fail because the student might have a tendency of thinking she/he can always make up for it. I have never been in such a situation so I am not sure. All I knowis I just want to make sure that the students learn so they will be successful with their career.