A good way for me to learn about my students' learning styles is to play games with them on the first day of class. For example, I have students listen to my background information (education, likes, and dislikes) and "quiz" them on the information. I also write this information on the board and show pictures of things. This helps me identify how the students remembered the information. Even though this is a college class, I like to play BINGO with the students on the first day. Don't you remember those days when you would have to get a classmate to sign a box of one thing that applies to him/her such as "Born in Texas" or "Has gone Scuba diving." This not only gets the students up and moving around, but also helps me identify who remembers meeting whom while getting up and meeting eachother.

what type of learner are they

I feel essay questions can really tell me how much of the material is understood.

I feel asking questions helps students put themselves in really world positions that through problem solving will get them the answer i seek.

I have learned from experience that there are always a few students who do not participate in class. By making group projects part of the curriculum, I can help involve them.

I like to make tests with lots of different types of questions. This tends to work well for the students. Some may excel on certain types of question while not doing so well on other types. It tend to give a better reflection of what a student has learned and what still needs to be covered more.

I think the small class sizes we have where I teach allows for more variety in delivery methods and assessments. What types of things have worked with larger classes (30-100 students)? Sarah Foslien

In teaching skill-sets its best to break the objective down in bite sized pieces then start chaining them together to complete the objective

Starting class on time and setting a good example as you present yourself , school rules ,and syllabus with objectives to be attained and certifications to attain.

By model ,the tone is set up for active feedback. By motivate, excitement and intrest is created. By manage ,the focus of the program becomes transitory from objective to objective.

:-) sometimes heat and air condition is not controled in the classroom and students must adhere to strict uniform policy ,this happens mostly during the winter. What i've allowed is jackets to be worn until 10 am.

My first day teaching was a nightmare. I was sick and didn't have much of a voice. My students show a lack of respect for me and the class and I'm not sure how to fix this.

As I was going through the material in module 1 I kept thinking: "What can I do for my online student?" It seems that in the on-ground classes it's more straightforward to identify the student's learning style and implement the appropriate teaching strategies. In the online setting, it's a little trickier. However, I try to provide various learning avenues to help my students: from interactive tutorials, to discussions, to group work. What have you found useful in addressing the learning styles of the online student?

we seem to have issues with glare off the marker board, any suggestions

Sometimes it is important to remember that one student may even be a combination of two different learning styles. I try to bounce back and forth or overlap delivery methods, but find that the most successful format is when we can do two at once. For example, putting students in a group with an activity in which they can record, discuss, or listen.

I usually place my classes in groups of four after observing them for one week, I go down my grade book selecting the strongest numbered 1-10 and then select the weaker students numbered 1-10 and then fill in the blanks with average students numbered 1-10, this way my groups are well rounded and I let the students know that this was a random selection.

I currently have a deaf student in my class and she uses an interpreter. Normally I would tell me students to listen for the sizzle in the pan, but it does not work for her. I have had to think about the other senses that I have and how the food looks or what smells are occuring to help me teach her. She is doing great in class.

I do think that it's important to provide material in different formats so that students can learn to pick up information in formats that are not their preferred type. If all info is given in a student's preferred format, he or she will never learn to be an adaptive learner. However, I sometimes think that educators feel the need to tailor their delivery formats to their students. And sometimes I think they only expect students to learn in the students' preferred format. Since I work at a "career college" that trains students to enter a specific field (and actually get a job with their degree--unlike the liberal arts education I received :) ), I wonder if we do our students a disservice by tailoring delivery formats towards one specific "optimized" format--perhaps tactile in many instances. When our students get a job, they won't be able to tell their employer "That's not my preferred learning method. Could you present that in a visual format?" They'll be asked (commanded) to learn in whatever format their employer deems the most cost effective. Therefore, teaching them to learn in any format (versus tailoring the format to them) is incredibly important. Thoughts?

All students who enter your classroom will have different needs and abilities. It will become quickly apparent which students do well with little guidance and which students require a lot more assistance. The instructor will probably spend more time with the students who need more help but the instructor must not alienate the above average students either.

I've found that speaking to classes about my own personal past difficulties in school, and the tools I used to overcome that helps in making them feel less self-conscious & more willing to seek assistance with their own issues.