I have taught at a College, Academy and Technology school. I noticed that the majority of students do not read the materials before class. At a Technology school one students said that is your job. Am I the only one that has this problem? I once had a Dean tell me to give students a pop quiz and they will start reading the chapters, you should have seen my student reviews for that class. Ron

Online messaging systems are a great way to deliver a process for discussion and reflection on terms.

I teach office application courses and I can tell very quickly those students that are tactile learners compared to a auditory person. I make sure I lecture about each tutorial as well as demonstrate how the objectives are completed using the software. Of course, not all enjoy the lecture and will just continue doing hands-on.

What are some questioning techniques you have used that were successful in getting students to participate in class discussions? I tend to have some easily answerable questions for the students at first. Then I like to have them build off those questions. It is ahrder though in an online setting because you have one standard question and students tend to answer that question, but not dig any deeper. That is when I ask them a further clarification or further knowledge question based on their initial post.

What do you think are the most successful assessments?

Ask them, don't tell them.

I have been reviewing more in class lately and although it is a less active environment forme, my students seem to really beneifit from it.

I don't test well, is usually an excuse for I didn't study. If a student tells me they don�t test well, I advise them to come in for tutoring. If they don't want to come for tutoring, the question is answered. When they do come in for help, we sit down and try to figure out what I can do, what they can do, or if we need outside help to build skills.

Classes really do take on their own personality. It's amazing how one activity will work with one group of students and the next group just sits there. What I try to do in that situation, however, is to keep asking questions and, eventually, someone will start answering. It seems like a lot of the time it simply takes one student to get things rolling. Once the ice is broken, I find that other students will respond more

By understanding the different learning styles, we can adjust the delivery of information to touch on all aspects of learning. We all have our favorite learning style, however we all learn something from each of the styles, therefore we, as instructors, need to be careful not to focus on only one style and explain to our students that they do learn from all styles, not only their 'favorite'.

I primarily teach human resources. When giving an introduction course, or even the master level strategic human resource course, I also make sure to integrate different learning styles throughout the course materials. This is sometimes difficult with a topic such as HR, where it is hard to get some hands on work. I have found that short case studies, related to the current materials seem to be very effective. This, supplemented with reading, discussion and videos has proven to be quite well received by many students.

always be patient when teaching students that learing problems and don't crowd them, there are better results in the long run and the student feels better about themself.

I found that most students began listening to their ipods and other personal music players and were disengaging from the dialogue that makes studio collaboration so critical in their development. To remedy this I asked that they come to consensus to have music throughout the studio so they can still hear the comments made by myself and others. The students rotate the type of music through a lottery system they developed themselves, it has been most effective in restoring a collaborative atmosphere to the class.

Hi David - thanks for sharing a great example of application assessment. We do something similar in our IT Hardware course. Not only does it give us an idea of how well they have mastered the skills but it also is a confidence booster that will help our students when they encounter the real bugs! Susan

I have only been instructing for a short time, but in that time I have learned a multitude. First, and foremost no matter what the students situation, they want to learn. They are not just there even if there attitudes sometimes seem that way. Next, show your human. Easier for me to say given my youth. Although that is one thing i utilize to my advantage. Lastly, be who you are. A lot of times as educators we lose sight of who we are. We become what we do. Students see that and there retention drops. These are just a few things that help motivate learners.

word banks help students when covering material to refer against when covering new material and relation to word meanings.

The statistics given in this part of the module I found really helpful. I like to share such concrete facts with my students when relevant. One statistic I would love to learn is the estimated number of vocabulary words the average person actually uses in day to day life.

I could really use some specific suggestions about how to give students "kinesthetic" exercises to help them learn reading and writing skills. Obviously, teaching a cooking class or auto mechanics provides plenty of "hands-on" opportunities, but what about teaching English composition?

I find many text books' test bank questions poorly written. I often wish the publishers would employ individuals who specialize in developing good test items to assess an individual's knowledge to write these. As instructors, we often do not have a choice in the text that is chosen for the courses we teach. In my career college situation, instructors have little prep time and rely on those test banks. Unless and instructor has taken a college level course on developing test items, students often get poorly constructed evaluation tools.

What are the instructional benefits of knowing the learning styles of your students? How can this knowledge be used to help you be a more effective instructor? The benefits would be that by having a mixture of learning styles, you are able to teach every student and how they learn. Some students may have learning styles that overlap, so by having different styles you are helping them learn in more ways than one. The knowledge can be used to motivate an instructor to develop new course content intiatives. It also helps to keep you on your toes and keeps you interested in your course.