I have international students that flock together in a group. They share notes and are caught talking during a test. When questioned about this talking, the reply is that the question makes no sense because of the language barrier and that the question is being explained in the native tongue. I have gone so far as to seperate the group, which was recieved in a negative manner and reported to the office for being prejudice against the group of students. I have taken students aside and explained that clarification of test questions is my responsibility and that talking during a… >>>

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… >>>

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… >>>