I have proven that when you prepare your self with the knowledge of the subject you are able to deliver it to the students in more than one so that they understand and feel like they have achived their objective. Students tends to come back for more knowledge when they are understanding the material presented.

What can be done when you have a student who demands ALL of your attention the entire class? I have one student who follows me in the lab the entire class time, not to learn or ask questions, but to make the whole thing about him. It is taking my attention away from the rest of the class. I have tried different methods from being nice to down right outforth, and to no avail.

One exercise I have found very helpful is the classic negotiation exercise called the "Ugli Orange" - I have used this in communications courses, problem solving courses, business courses, and really, any course that claims problem solving or strategic thinking in its Learning Objective can benefit from this. You can easily Google "Ugli Orange" and find the exercise, but here is a brief summary: There are two roles: Dr. Jones and Dr. Roland. Both "sides" (think groups) are scientists and their respective firms do not like each other and have a history of corporate espionage. Both sides need to obtain the rare Ugli orange fruit for different, but equally compelling reasons. There is a limited quantity of these oranges and they will be sold to the highest bidder. Each side needs all the oranges (or so it seems). In any case, they exercise will show that a) they are not fighting over the same thing, they need different parts, b) how they approach the seller of the oranges requires cooperation, and c) they need to divide the oranges in a way that does not expose either firm to risk. It is a great exercise, and very educational.

The information I covered is very indepth, but very important. Like any other fiels each class builds off the knowledge given in the previous class, but I continue to have people fall asleep (or taking some Zzzz's) in the class. I have left the lights on during lectures I have done group assignments, I've walked around the class, changed my pitch and or tone and even spoken to those students separately. Are there any other suggestions to get students awake, interested and motivated in class?

I am concerned about students who are "friends" with faculty on FB and other social networking sites. When I was in my career program we did not socialize with our faculty outside of the classroom even those that we knew cared about us and were our personal cheerleaders and mentors. With our computer networking skills I find it odd to see conversations between faculty and students on these sites. It seems inappropriate to me but wondered what others think about this as well.

so you know what is important and what is not

by explaining the course to them and working with them

go over the syllabus so the students know exactly what you mean

if they have problems learning find out what they are, so you can help them

Test should be on the items that was covered in lecture. Most of the time their shopuld be a review over the lecture; however Quizzes are not in included.

It is easy to assess the students on the first day of class; because the student are willing to be honest about them self's

Start with the local news to get them engaged, then contiune onto a lession for that day.

Try to engage them on their level as adults and then break it back down to basic.

I have had a number of students who seem to be intimidated or shy and do not ask questions either during class participation or even one on one with me. They seem to be struggling but when help is offered or when I try to find out why they are struggling, i get nothing out of them. They almost seem as if they are not interested in learning or really have no desire or motivation. Other than letting these students fall behind, what other techniques could I try to get them more motivated to ask questions or even go to someone for help of they are not understanding the material?

I have a challenge with a group of know it all students. They challenge most of their instructors and usually create conflict between themselves and other students who are interested in learning.

Try creating an actual real life example of a situation. Or better yet create a situation and ask small groups of students to develop an action plan to assess, plan and implement the action and have a system to monitor the students actions.

There should be a good training period for new Instructors for at least two weeks. This will have a great impack on their success as a new employee.

I like using real life examples when I educate my class. By creating interesting examples of current personalities or celebreties, students may find the topic more fun and interesting. Another way is to have the students practice using their own information or ideas. This includes them in the process of learning

I learned that 75% of the population are visual learners during an instructor seminar. I'm in the dental field and teach lecture and lab. What has worked great for my classes is to bring a visual aide from lab and present it during lecture. This aide correlates with the daily objectives. It could be a series of dental x-rays-some correct and some with errors. I break the class into groups and have them chose which x-rays are correct and which are not; each group has a different series. when done each group presents their analysis. This approach is low risk because they are actively pursuing their analysis together and presenting as a group. At the end you will have one big group discussion for sure! :-D This works best if group members are switched each time you use this method. Ines

I teach at an audio engineering college. using audio recordings, or to have a student with learning disabilities record lectures seems only natural.