When you walk into the class room, posturing, the way you dress , if you are sloppy this will give the student an impression that your are easy going and you can not command respect as an instructor. Your facial expression or the tone of your voice can alienate a student.

I would like to request for lit, catalogs and references on how to enhance the technical skills of an Instructor.Knowledge of creating material for classroom use to motivate adult learning. I am handling a class the age bracket of my students are from 23 to 59 yrs. old

You need to plan your lesson around the classes ability to pay attention. You can't please everybody but you need to keep everyone involved.

It's always easier to give them some slack later. If you don't show your in charge you'll never be able to. Start out firm and if they deserve it you can lighten up.

Explain task at hand completely in class head out to lab an phsicaly perform the hands on task.

You only get to make a first impression once. Your relationship with your students develops very quickly and a poor first impression can lead to a student becoming de-motivated. It is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that he/she is prepared right from the first moment.

I am directly responsible for setting up the classrooms under my range of influence. To properly prepare a class room, you must lay out tool boxes neatly within a designated work area. I must prepare a system for keeping expendable items stocked,and make sure appropriate training aids are in place. Lastly the classroom must be laid out comfortably as well as aesthetcally pleasing Reply

I find many of my students don't want to read to find needed information in a technical manual. I have to use the threat of a grade deduction to force many to use a manual and to read a proceedure before performing a task. Does anyone have a tip on how to motivate these students to grab a manual and find the information on their own? I feel they are only using a manual because I'm grading them and when there's no threat of grading (when they enter the workforce) they'll just rush into the activity w/o reading the proceedure first.

Being enthusiastic and energetic about your course content and informing the students "whats in it for them" acts as one of the best motivators!

IF YOUR NOT READY THE CLASS WILL FIGURE IT OUT AND EAT YOU ALIVE

YOU CAN SHOW THE HOW TO DO A TASK BUT UNTIL THEY DO IT THEY HAVEN'T LEARNED ANYTHING!

You covered your expectations on Day 1. On Day 3 a student disrupts the class with negative remarks towards another students questions. What do you do?

I have found it works well if possible to discuss what worked well and what did not with the instuctor from were your new class is coming from. If posssible allow yourself enogh time to adapt to your new class. Each class is a different melting pot of students from across the world. You have to take a different approche with each one. If you can get a little help from some one who has already done this it can go along way.

The Power Point projector went down. The training aid you were going to use broke. The students are going to sleep with your lecture that you thought would be entertaining. Do you have a Plan "B"?

Todays students have been brought up where all media tries to give as much info as they can into as small a time spot as possible. It almost seems that they are trying to give us a subliminal flash of information to get their point across. Wouldn't that be fun to try! It is no wonder that the students can't listen or sit still for more than a few minutes. We have the job of trying to slow them down and get the information into their heads. Short lectures, followed by demos and hands on practice takes the main points to them and helps them understand the subjects we are teaching.

Every course starts with a reading of the class SOP's. Students have to hear these every course and people wonder why students miss the first day. I hit the basics. I tell them this is like any other school and they all know how to act under these conditions. I hate to brow beat them by carrying on about how they will be downgraded for everything including breathing. If you can appeal to their mature side and treat them like adults, there is no need to read them the riot act. I have had no troubles with classes using this approach. Stay respectful and treat them as adults and they will confine themselves to the accepted norm of the school.

we will be learning about each other all the way through the class.. but remember the first inpression rule.

videos & movies cover a lot of stuff.

I find that giving a real good presentation to the class will keep tem alive until the end. Asking questions before the lecture starts is a good way to get their attention. Focusing questions on real world situations tht involve class room lecture can create a open question through out the class time. Also in the middle of lectures, asking open questions to students will also keep the alert and focused on the lecture which detour them from sleeping and playing in the class room. Finally, go back and ask the questions through out the lecture to see if anyone have obtained any knowledge from it.

We have recently had an extra work session and have found that students still complain about the instructor being too hard.