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The First Things to Do...

I disagree with the order of things to do on the first day of class as given on the first slide of the activity for this module. I agree that introducing myself is the first thing but I like to take attendence second, handout the course syllabus third, then discuss my accessibility after that. I try to get students active and involved as soon as possible when the class begins. I have used techniques like leaving the door open and calling on a student, asking his or her name, then asking that student to please close the door. I do the same or something similar for passing out the syllabus.

The Need to Develop Goals

After completing this module, I realize that I have been doing well developing objectives but not goals. That may sound odd since objectives come from goals but what I think I have been doing is combining the two terms and generating a single output. Based on my experience from this module, I am going to breakout my course goals separately from my course objectives goig forward.

Learning Outside the Classroom

I am glad I completed this module as it reminded me that learning often takes place outside the classroom. I am going to use this motivation to do a better job of helping students connect my course content with lives outside the classroom. Perhaps rather than assigning projects that I develop alone, I would ask students to complete projects using inputs from their lives such as their jobs, homelife, or other areas of interest.

Cirriculum development

I am very fortunate to be part of a school that utilizes its instructors to assist with the creation, development and ongoing "upgrades" to its day to day lesson plans and course information. Our school understands that WE are the people using it everyday. We even involve the students in an indirect fashion. We, as instructors still plan our daily lessons and meet to go over the days results to determine what worked, what didn,t and what can we do better. Our main goal is consistency of the lesson no matter who teaches it

Negative attitudes

As a teacher in the culinary field I am finding more and more students with this problem. They, the students tell me it's all about "respect" I don't feel they have the first clue as to what the real definition is. I try to be fair and consistent with all my students, but there are the few that test and push the authority that an instructor such as myself has in the class. When it raises it's ugly head I pull them from class and explain the situation briefly and ask them if they understand. If they do we're back in class if not they are asked to leave and the student will be spoken to by the Director of Education. How do you deal with this situation in todays young student population?

lectures

I tend to do lectures visually, but also give them a hand out with some of the lecture information on it. The lecture info that is not on it they have to fill in through the lecture. They tend to follow more thoroughly, not too much writing where they cannot learn while they write, and also they are doing somehting so no sleepiness.

First impressions

y first impression that I really strive for day 1 is being early and greeting the students as they approach my classroom. I also try really hard to leanr their names by week 2 because helps them feel more comfotabe being a new instructor for them. I also always acknowledge my students in the hallway by saying hello once I know their names.

Lecture to lab skills

In my profession students have to have knowledge on the subject on hand, but also be able to apply it to a hands on setting. It helps them learn how to utilize the content when they use it in a lab setting. This helps with the visual learners, but also my textbooks learners. Both learning groups are covered.

The terms, they are a'changin'

After seven years of teaching, I find that I am a completely different instructor from what I was when I started. Though that sounds obvious, I also see where my instructional methods still change from term to term. No two terms of the same course are identical. No two terms are identical based on the challenges of previous terms. Ultimately, I find that the shorter lectures followed by immediate hands-on work - in my profession that means legal drafting of court-ready documents - appears to be the most effective method of instruction. However, I find that it is difficult to get students to apply what was learned in previous terms to new material in new areas in subsequent terms. To remedy this, many instructors are now working on projects together to better demonstrate how skills and knowledge flow from one area of law to another.

Human Vs. Rules

When I first began teaching I was a rules follower and had no deviations. After attending a Master's course with Professor Hughey, he showed you can maintain the rules and standards; but also be an approachable and compassionate educator. I became a better instructor, positive report with the students and my final course evaluations increased dramatically.

Reflecting after class to enhance future planning

I'm curious how instructors use reflection after a class session to enhance future planning for teaching the material from the session. This, obviously, would mostly apply to a class you teach more than once. I try to take notes after each class about the content, what worked well, what didn't, materials used, etc. I then try to use these notes when I teach the class again so that I can better plan. Any other strategies for reflecting or recording after class to better prepare in the future?

Testing for type of learner

Is there any sample test to define which type of learner your student is?

Learning

I come from a background of LD problems. I know how it is to over come a lot of these things in life. I have a heart for those who share my problem and want to help them. I have done a lot of the things said here but I know the most important thing is having a teacher or instructor at your back for support and chering you on.

Greatest Challenge

Learning English and its phonetics remains a challenge on a constant basis.This is the largest challenge to the adult learner.

DIVERSE LEARNERS

According to several experts in the industry, most notably,Joyce Pittman, Ph.D. Students of diversity will need access to new learning and technology tools and methods to improve literacy levels required for success in higher education. Building knowledge and skills through human-to-human communication provides diverse learners to have access to authentic materials in problem-based environments to help draw connections to new language context and content usage. In the past, computer-assisted language learning (CALL) was used to support language learners in education. Now, especially in higher education learners’ access to Net-worked based resources have moved beyond CALL to placing more emphasis on the need for more caring, competent, highly qualified teachers who understand the importance of Active learning and teaching, home and community involvement in meeting the needs of learners with new technologies to improve global competitive positioning in education and in the world of work.

Instructional Practices

I believe that the following is true; especially in the group setting. Research has shown that good everyday teaching practices can do more to counter student apathy than special efforts to attack motivation directly (Ericksen, 1978). Most students respond positively to a well-organized course taught by an enthusiastic instructor who has a genuine interest in students and what they learn. Thus activities you undertake to promote learning will also enhance students' motivation.

Classroom Management

In whatever class I teach, I do not sit down except when I am instructing using a computer during my lecture. I will still get up and walk around periodically to check the progress of the class. I find that I can manage my classroom much better while I am up circulating the classroom. It gives me an opportunity to be aware of what the students are working on, to talk with them individually, and I have found that students will ask me questions if I am involved in the class.

Being Prepared

I think that it is essential to be prepared for a class. The students are expecting everything to be in order and to fully understand what is expected of them. The syllabus should clearly outline what they will be working on and what they will need to know by the end of the course. Shelly Baker

Keeping student's focused on the lecture.

I have found that student's love storie's about the subject matter,old racing storie's that relate to your lecture.

Practicing to Ensure Preparation

I am curious if any of you actually rehearse a class period from time to time. When we assign students to do speeches or presentations, we always emphasize how important it is to rehearse, but do we ever rehearse and evaluate our own performance as instructors? Obviously, this isn't something we would have time to do for every class period every day, but I do sometimes rehearse my lesson plan for the day to ensure preparedness and check on the accuracy of the times I've allotted for each activity/lecture.