Educational research directed at working with diverse learners is replete with studies identifying best practices for closing the achievement gaps that persist by race/ethnicity, socio-economics, language, and disability.

Faculty can often assign more complex, authentic problems to groups of students than they could to individuals. Group work also introduces more unpredictability in teaching, since groups may approach tasks and solve problems in novel, interesting ways. This can be refreshing for instructors. Additionally, group assignments can be useful when there are a limited number of viable project topics to distribute among students. And they can reduce the number of final products instructors have to grade.

I’d like to say that the ability to make good eye contact is one of the social skills a lot of young men seem to be struggling with these days, which would be true, but I’ve encountered enough gaze-averting middle-aged men to know that it’s a multi-generational problem. And actually, it’s probably something men have always struggled with—females are on average better at making and holding eye contact than males, and in fact, it’s been found that the higher the levels of testosterone a fetus is exposed to in utero, the less eye contact they make as infants—across genders. Interestingly, the exception to this rule are male babies who have the very highest levels of T; they end up being as adept at eye contact as their female counterparts—alpha babies aren’t afraid to look you in the eye!

I have found that being prepared for a class session enables a more efficient learning environment.

There is a blend of visual, auditory, & kinesthetic learners in the classroom. I use several visual aids in my anatomy lectures. To many visual aids can be distracting.

I have found that using Pinterest, Twitter and Linkedin as engagement tools is highly beneficial for my students and also keep them in the search for knowledge in their free time. Is anybody using other social media forums to engage students and what results are you getting in regards to participation?

This module was extremely informational as it gave me the information on all different types of learning styles and methods. I will be sure to study my students and see what works so they can absorb as much information as possible.

Thank you for making a note of how important it is to set a clear field of expectations and what the class is to be about. That will really help to engage students and make a good first impression.

Making a checklist before your first day is a wonderful idea. How terrible it would be to feel unprepared and set a cold setting for your new students.

I really appreciated the advice about not acting like the smartest in the class. I think it is important to show the students that no one is better than anyone else. It puts everyone on the same level and makes for a more comfortable environment.

Adult learners are active learners and need self-direction. As instructor we need to be willing to chance our teaching methods to accommodate the student learning and keep them engaged.

I like the idea of going over a topic with no note taking. Then having an open discussion later, to make sure all of the notes are then taken correctly. This allows the student to focus on what is being said the first time around, instead of trying to focus on what they are writing.

This discussion explains how to discuss questions with your students very well.

There are some classes that I have only 5 students in. How do I make sure that I get around to all the students the same amount of times?

I use diversity in my teaching methods thorough out my class lecture and labs. Active learning processes are very effective for students to comprehend the new techniques.

How do you think you would have to adapt as an instructor to be successful in a flipped classroom?

What can you do to be a better facilitator of learning and not simply a content provider?

What are your needs for professional development to help you become a better-prepared flipped classroom instructor?

Do you believe the flipped classroom will be a fix for learning in the classroom or just a fad?

Which component of the flipped classroom model do you believe is most important and why?