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Ask a question from your peers to help you in your professional work. Seek different points of view on a topic that interests you. Start a thought-provoking conversation about a hot, current topic. Encourage your peers to join you in the discussion, and feel free to facilitate the discussion. As a community of educators, all members of the Career Ed Lounge are empowered to act as a discussion facilitator to help us all learn from each other.

Instructing with enthusiasm

My students respond better with enthusiasm. They feel more apt to give me input.

Professionalism

Professionalism is key the key to success in the field. I have hired staff in my field and always place as high or a higher value on the professionalism of the candidate. Knowledge is important but if an employee cannot represent the office in a manner condusive to success then their knowledge is of no help to them or their business.

Technology and instruction

In the past couple of years our teaching/learnning platform has gone to IPADs. Therefore, every student has an ipad in front of them to take notes in PDF, record lectures, and/or take pictures and videos of various tray set ups or applications of skills. I have found that instead of listening to the lecture, video or demostration that is taking place, students would rather use their ipad for other things such as games. Although, walking through the class, students are very clever at "closing out" of the game and "swiping" back to the lecture before correction can be made by the instructor. What if any recommendations do you have for such an issue?

delivering course content

Any material we come across can be delivered in different ways. The different ways may be effective for some individuals and may not for others. When you get a feel for your classroom and environment there are many effective styles and ways to present the material for the course.

expectations

Having a syllabus is a great way for introduction and expecatations for the course. It is a great time to ask questions and get a feel for the classroom environment from instructor to student.

Planning and Preparation

With planning and to do lists you can stay focused in an effective way for both students and your self.

Knowledge

When you are knowledgable about what needs to be presented or taught, the teaching process can be easier. You show your students that you are reliable and prepared.

Learning Disabilities

When giving an exam, I have found that students with learming disabilities perform better when thsy are given additional time in a separate classroom.

Diverse Students

I have found that by having them attend after class tutoring sessions will help in their development.

Class Dynamic

I find it critically important to regularly pause to assess the classroom dynamic throughout the course of the day. With five hour classes it is easy to get wrapped up in the material and leave the students (and their attention) behind. Checking what they have retained so far, what they have found most interesting, and observing their engagement levels helps me to move forward or adjust more effectively through the lesson plans.

groups

The instructor must be cognizant of those students who rely on others to do the assignment for them.

Getting Students Excited

I feel fortunate that I am able to teach material in class that I really enjoy and am enthusiastic about. I think that it can be easy to forget how important it is to give students some highlights of what will be covered to get their minds going and get them excited about the topics to come. Enthnusiasm is contagious and sharing your enthusiasm with the students can help them retain the information by keeping them engaged in the subject matter.

Communication

I have found it helpful to distribute a course outline at the beginning of the course. This which gives the student an overview of what the course will cover.

Time Between Assessments

I've recently started teaching a new group through the first science-based class of their course. As I haven't had much experience teaching this particular class, I adapted a syllabus from a previous instructor. What I did not realize when planning the class is the time between quizzes. We meet weekly, and the first two quizzes have been on the 2nd and 4th class period (2 weeks in between). Most of the students have struggled through these 2 quizzes. My question is: what is the best timeframe for quizzing students? Am I expecting too much from them with every-other-week quizzes? E. Young

Teaching a 101 Class at a Career College

When teaching a general education 101 course at a career college how have some of you or instructors you know helped students remember the purpose for taking your course? I find it is sometimes difficult for the students to remember why general courses are requirements and not silly administrative hoops to jump through.

Assessments

As a new instructor and watching some of the other instructors and their test choices, it appears most do a variety from all of these topics discussed. T/F, multiple choice, short answer, and essay. Much does need to assess the critical thinking skills of the students.

CATs

I have seen this in past classes that I have taken; however, the instructor never collected them to evaluate. I can see this being an effective tool if utilized correctly.

Questions

This subject material will all come in useful for my classes. As a new instructor, I can definitely benefit from this. Especially the shy students, and how we can reinforce their input if they do participate in class.

Learing Styles

I liked the idea of doing a learning styles assessment on the class. This would assist with teaching to accommodate all learners. I plan to use this idea.

Most effective

What in your past has been the most effective way to deliver course content to a broad range of students (ages and diversity)?