In my opinion, it is very important to me to hold an individual retropspective every day - the idea is to see what worked, why it worked, why something didn't work, and how to improve. It can be an invaluable tool developed during a perior of time that could otherwise be a waste. I think that there are many innovative ways to acheive better performance on a daily basis; but, this is certainly one that works for me. Of course, safety over being introspective. Thoughts?

Hi, all. I've discovered that being retrospective in both the classroom environment and the work environment are extremely beneficial. I must admit that some times it is difficult to realize problem areas that you have. This is the toughest area in my opinion. Being open minded enough to understand issues is a challenge. Primarily, because it is difficult to realize that the problem area is yours as a teacher and not that of the students (or boss). I have been assesing feedback from my students daily. I do have a small class; but, they are all eager. They also have individual methods of learning - that can be a challenge. Also, I find it difficult to determine if an issue is truly mine, or if it is an excuse for poor performance. I recently had a guy drop out. The reason doesn't really matter for this discussion; however, I took it very personally. E.g., how did I let him down. Did I let him down? Or, did he simply have other obligations. He spoke with the Registrar, etc., and I still don't really have a good idea what the issue was. I would like to know. Based on the Registrars feedback, it wasn't my methodology; but, I can help but wonder how I could have improved and kept him more involved. Thoughts? jay

When writing tests, you should give the test to another colleague to have them review it, to see if it realative to the material and makes sense to another person, and realtive to the objectives it is suppose to meet.

Pretesting has proved be an effective tool to see where the students are. It also gives me a chance to see you needs more attention.

Keep slides up to date, funny, interesting. The youth we teach now need more stimulation than in the past, by keeping the slides "catchy" we can keep their attention.

A field trip to a farm in culinary school is important. It allows the students to see first hand where the food comes from. Growing a graeter respect for the food itself

Before each class I always outline the material I intend to cover and additional material if the class time goes to fast. The next class I will briefly cover the major points and then continue with the lesson plan for that class.

I always prepare for my class because of the unknown questions that always seem to arise. The educational and real life experience of the class is very demanding and teaching effectively to each student is in fact a daily challenge. I also use outside sources to keep the students attention and for additional information not explained in detail in the text.

knowing who you are and what you can or can't do is so important. Don't paint yourself in a corner.

Too many words, too many pics, too many whiz-bang entry styles. Keep it simple, use the right image for the right lesson. Don't use ppt for EVERYTHING! It's over used and overrated.

If you know the flow of your class that you have taught numerous times. What would happen if you start a new subject for the first time? I find it would be helpfull to plan learning activities that will be useful in making my students interested in the topic, fun, and engaging. These may or may not be used depending on timing of the class schedule.

Some of my classes meet at night once a week. Classes run from 6:00-10:00. It's tough to keep a group of students who have either worked all day or been in class for most of it engaged for the entire time. I try to mix up activities, but sometimes find that my students are just worn out by the final hour of class. Ideas? Are there certain activities that are better left for the end of the class?

I teach English and I was trying to think of a kind of field trip that might be applicable to my students. My classes are considered general education courses, so I teach a variety of disciplines. A colleague takes her students to a local art museum and then it becomes a writing project. Any other suggestions?

Being in front of a class is not easy, we can make it look as if it is though. Proper preparation is critical to optimal engagement of a class. We all know the best plan should always have a backup just incase things go curplooey. I have found making sure I have devoted time to organizing not over analyzing the lessons I plan to present things go much smoother. I usually try to follow a 15 minute review what you know, show me what you remember, and then lets add some new material, and end it with what do you know now that you didn't when you walked in the door? It helps me move the lesson around the students and keeps them engaged. Anyone else have a way the make it look smooth they want to share?

I believe that the grading is a critical piece of the learning process. You need to give feedback on wrong answers when correcting homework assignments, as this will assist them in studying for their test. Either make the wrong answers a lecture the next class period or make sure they are seeing their assignments in a timely manner, is an important tasks that some times is not taken as serious as it needs to be.

Using some assessments such as a pretext, can assist you with where your students are in the learning process. Even if your assessment is some questions that just require each student to verbalize their answer so that it doesn't become a stress of taking a test time of situation. It helps with where you want to maybe adjust in your learning options.

I feel that when you both discuss in class and show important information in a PowerPoint presentation, it helps all students. Not all students are good note takers, so if you provide the PowerPoints that you have created or that the publisher of the textbook created, it helps them. They are able to study better and have something to focus on while you are asking them questions.

I believe that you should read all the material that you are presenting in class each day prior to teaching it. If it's a hands-on class, than you should have already went through all of the exercises that the students will go through so that you are aware of any issues that may arise and how to help them through it.

in my experience white boards are not only helpful to the students but help me keep my thoughts organized when teaching.

Have any of you felt the embarrassment of not having a powerpoint presentation on a flash drive when you thought it was there? I've learned the hard way when I couldn't locate a lecture 5 minutes before class started. Now I make sure each lecture is on my work computer, on a flash drive and as a final insurance, I email each lecture to myself. Uploading to shared documents on your campus system is one more way to save your hard work.