SOMETIMES ALL THE PLANNING IN THE WORLD WON'T PREPARE YOU FOR SOME OF LIFES CURVE BALLS. HAVING THE ABILITY TO THINK ON ONE'S FEET CAN DETERMINE THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE OF ANY LESSON PLAN. IN OUR EVER CHANGING AND DYNAMIC WORLD, WE MUST HAVE THE ABILITIES TO ADAPT FOR MOST ANY SITUATION. SUCH AS; CULTURAL DIFFERENCES, PHYSICAL CHALLENGES, AND EVEN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT OUR STUDENTS MAY BRING WITH THEM.

A few years ago, Comedy Central had a show called "Short Attention Span Theatre" which should have been a clue to me about what was coming ... That 15-18 minute attention span this module speaks of has shrunk, I'm afraid, to something closer to 8-10 minutes. My students have the added distraction of having large windows in the classrooms I customarily teach in, thus I have to compete with traffic, other students, passers-by ... So I have to be extra-entertaining to keep them focused. I use group projects a lot to combat that short attention span problem ... Anyone have any other tactics I can use? Would love to have a few more options ... Thanks, John

In a 10-week cycle at our school, we will have, usually, 19 two-hour class meetings. Each cycle there are two holidays; one will fall on a Monday (or Wednesday, as in Thanksgiving eve)and the other will fall on a Thursday (or Tuesday, to allow for a long weekend. Thus the 19 meetings. I say all that to say this: It seems to me a small investment of your class time to spend one full class period covering syllabus, textbook and class requirements, and getting to know each other. Some of my colleagues try to limit the getting-to-know-you portion of the class meeting to one hour, then start introducing course content the second hour. I find it's time well spent learning as much as we can about each other right away; that way, when we start on course content, we're all generally comfortable with where we are all going together, and how we're going to get there. It also helps those second-day adds or dirst-day-absents keep from falling too far behind the first day. John

I teach computer based applications and use all the styles discussed. Therefore my students get hands on experience with the specific application I am teaching.

When I was a student, I figured teachers just had a syllabus and that was that -- one size fits all. Not so! With each new cycle of students, I find things I can do to my syllabus to make it more useful to both me and my students. It's also a chance for me to look at what worked, what didn't and what I can do better. Unfortunately, we don't always have time to do that; but when it's there, use it. Don;t wait until you change textbooks to rework that syllabus. Just my thoughts ... John

Early on in my teaching career (clear back a year and a half ago! LOL), I think I tried too hard to be "one of them" and not be the teacher, per se. Funny, too, that I am not your typical just-graduated-from-college 20-something, but rather I am a mid-50' veteran of the newspaper wars. So I think my efforts to be "cool" can be attributed to the age factor. Now, I am finding it much easier to be their fiend in a teach-appropriate way without crossing that line of being their "pal" but it took me a few cycles of students and a couple of bad experiences with students who were a bit too clingy (needy) to see where that appropriate line is to be drawn. I find these days if you take even a few minutes just to get to know them, to learn about their problems and their hopes and such, that's really all they are looking for from you, the teacher. They need to know that their partner in their educational adventure is on board and there for them, not that they are there because they got tirted of going to work every day and teaching is just easier (there actually are fools out therte who believe that!) ... I love teaching, and it is my relationships with my students that make my job so rewarding. Just my thoughts ... John Bryan

Teaching the same information in many different ways to determine the best or most effective way to educated the special needs student.

WHAT IF....The topic happens to be a topic that you are less informed on and the students even seem to be more informed than yourself?

I am a instructor in a technical school. Many times students are enrolled who are very limited in reading and speaking English. I cannot hold the class back for them, but where is the line drawn between their needs and the rest of the class?

I have found that in Classes today with multiple cultures you realy need to be prepared for anything. Some times going one step ahead of the regular class preperation. You have to prepare or should I say be prepared at all times. If your not then you have just lost some of your class due to waiting on the additional materials you need to help them and this may just cause that one student to drop out of your class.

I Have seen this happen too often in the past. The student becomes pals with an Instructor then when the student doesn't perform and starts to fail, the Instructor is the one the student will blame for their misfortune. As a professional our standards must be set higher than the student level. Dress,Language and Conduct lead to better role models,managers,and motivators.

I give multiple choice tests as well as practical tests. I will give the multiple choice test first and then grade them together as a group so we can discuss the correct and wrong answers as they come up. I want to correct the porblem as soon as it occurs rather than sending them home thinking their wrong answer was right.

I teach a six-to-eight week technical certification course. During the first class, in addition to many of the items on the To Do list, I often lecture on the first chapter in our text. This is not a necessity, as there is plenty of time to get through the material - I do it to give the students a feel for the "theoretical" portion of the course. Do you think this is too much for the first class?

I believe soft skills are very important and are often over looked by instructors. I teach my students as if each day is a job. I inform them at the beginning of the course why I expect them to be on time, prepared and have a good attitude. They are required to clock in and out at the beginning and end of class as well as for lunch. If they are more than ten minutes late, they have to makeup an hour. They can bring up their whole grade by the evaluation of their team work. The students will complain, of course, at the beginning; but I have had many students thank me for teaching them a good work ethic in addition to the course objectives.

To help students that are too shy in class to speak up, I will put the students in discussion groups. I will then ask a question and give them time to discuss it among themselves briefly. Then one student can answer for the group. I find that this sometimes allows the shy student to build up their confidence first in a small group before they are ready to respond to the whole class. I have found that as the class progresses, that shy student tends to participate more as a whole.

How does the learning style of the instructor influence their teaching style? I wonder if the learning style of the instructor is Visual, is it harder for them to teach in an auditory method? I am a visual person but I tend to lecture more to my students.

I teach applied electronics at a career college, I've noticed that many students like my classes because they are hands-on. But there's is always a number of students that prefer more theory and I would like some suggestions on how to integrate more theory in a hands-on course.

I have never been in a "classroom" but I have been a part of helping students throught tutoring and homework. After going through this module regarding assessments, I have a much, much better view on how I can further help the students I tutor. Now I know how I can see if they actually understand and learn what I am helping them with. Just makes it easier for me to help them. I am really enjoying these modules. I'm sure glad I took them!!

I admit that I under-dress for class. That being said, I teach a technical certification course where the students are predominately young adults dressed in jeans, tee shirts, and flip-flops. As I dressed professionally the first few weeks, a line quickly appeared. This line was clearly erased around the third week, when I started to dress as they did. My point is that, as in life, every situation is different. By my breaking protocol, the students better related to me; yet, in my opinion, I was still able to be a successful model, manager and motivator. Does this indeed show a lack of professionalism, as this module would have you believe?

With such a variety of students that enter the classroom, teachers need methods that allow all students to learn as effectively as they can. Howard Gardner's theories on multiple intelligences will help teachers understand how students learn, modify and provide various methods of teaching, and develop a positive learning environment. Each class should provide the students with several methods in which they are able to learn and participate. Provide the students with tactile, spatial, verbal, written, and logical activities to help them all succeed. Also, students can be grouped by their M.I. so they can really express themselves. How do you know what intelligence a student is? There are several short tests available and you can have them do the test during their first class meeting - it can even be used as a get to know you activity.