I have faced the problem where the only textbook available to support the software that is being taught is too advanced for students or the writing is sometimes confusing when trying to complete tutorials. What should I do?

As a young instructor, one of the biggest challenges that I have faced is bridging the gap between student age, learning styles, and ability. I work for a career college and teach Fundamental Writing. My student demographic ranges anywhere from the new high school graduate to the middle-aged career changer. One facet of the classroom consists of students that are young, lacking in life experience & maturity, yet needing to brush up on their writing skills, before proceeding with their academic career. The other facet would be the adult students who are mature, have much life experience, yet are at a loss to remember skills that they haven't used in years and might not have been proficient in to begin with. It is very challenging to develop cohesiveness and credibilty when there is such a vast dichotomy of differences. At times, there can be much tension between young students who take their educational experience for granted and adult learners who are very invested in their lessons. Does anyone have any advice in bridging these gaps and building a stonger sense of community within such an experientially diverse classroom?

I have pondered this question from activity in the classroom, calling students on an as-need basis and including group work whenever I can provide a good discussion and assignment platform. Any other suggestions to improve communications? Your thoughts please. Gary

Hi Everyone, After completed the second quiz in ED 101, some questions came to mind. For those of you who teach in for-profit institutions, what balance do you see between academic freedom of the professor and the preassigned syllabi? I have taught online at two for-profit institutions, and at both to my knowledge the professor is unable to add or alter any graded course material. I understood this going in, but I was just curious if anyone else had comments on the positives and negatives of this situation.

While all good ideas, it seems a bit extreme. By that I mean if all these practices are followed, it consumes the entire class. I always try to think back to when I was a student of the things my instructs did that I disliked. Those who spent the entire first class (esp those 1:40 minute sessions) doing "intro and overview" were incredibly boring. I wanted to get into some meat and potatoes sooner rather than later. I try to limit my introductions and overview of the course to the first 30 mins of the first class. Then I'll start digging into the beginning material. To accommodate that, I send out emails prior to the course with instructions to do a bit of reading prior to the first class. I make it a point not to overwhelm, too. /disclaimer: I teach in an online environment. We hold two one-hour chats per week.

KEEP THEM BUSY! THAT IS THE KEY,EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY HAVE A LEARNING DISABILITY DOES NOT MEAN THEY DONT WANT TO LEARN.SO KEEP THEM BUSY AT ALL TIMES SO THEY DONT GET BORED AND POSSIBLY BECOME DISRUPTIVE.

We as educators must remember that learning occurs within each individual as a continual process throughout life. People learn at different speeds, so it is natural for them to be anxious or nervous when faced with a learning situation. Positive reinforcement by the instructor can enhance retention of the material, as can proper timing of the instruction. Learning also results from stimulation of the senses. In some people, one sense is used more than others to learn or recall information. We should present material that stimulates as many senses as possible in order to increase our chances of teaching success.

Previously, I have been very fortunate to have some wonderful and extremely knowledgeable instructors along my educational journey. However, some of those instructors possessed and had no problem sharing their superior attitude that it created an atmosphere of intimidation and arrogance. I believe that instructors should be approachable and respected, not viewed as infallible and aloof. Furthermore, this stunts the learning process to a point. What are your thoughts on this? I look forward to your feedback.

Does anyone have suggestions for organizing multiple subjects taught in a single class. I teach computerized accounting, which includes Microsoft Office, QuickBooks, Accounting knowledge from textbook, tax preparation, and other subjects. I am also fairly new, but will welcome any suggestions.

How do you help students that have very low reading and writting skills?

Except for very breif lectures(Key points and instructions)My current class is predominately lab activity. My students and I do mutual participation demos the first six days of the class. Students normally work in pairs during this period,if the pairings work well, I leave them alone, if not I will change a pairing. Most pairs work well with no modification needed, the students are made to understand that after the first six days,All graded tasks must be accomplished absolutely solo! This tack prevents "coat-tailing" as students know from the outset that they must understand,and,more importantly be able to perform graded tasks by themselves.This technique encourages active questioning as well.

WHEN INSTRUCTING WITH DIVERSE LEARNERS ONE MUST STICK TO THE BASICS.START WITH TEXT BOOK,LITERAL "READING ALOUD" INSTRUCTION THEN LECTURE FROM THE TEXT,ASKING"DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT WHAT WE JUST READ?" OPENS UP THE FLOOR FOR MORE ORAL INSTRUCTION.WE WILL NOW SHOW VIDEOS ON THE SAME SUBJECT MATTER.THEN WE WILL PUT IT INTO ACTION,HANDS ON PRACTIAL.... NOW WE HAVE READ IT,HEARD IT, SEEN IT,AND DONE IT. IF ONE HAS NOT GOT IT BY NOW, THEY ARE NOT EVER GOING TO GET "IT".

I try to relate to my students how what we are teaching them will effect them later on in there work as a tech. and often ask before I teach a segment if anyone has ever had any experience with it before.

How do you respond when a group compares your teaching style to the one of another instructor they seem to prefer more?

In an online environment, it is challenging to work with students who are learning English. Early in my career, I would feel a little apprehensive about pushing students to write using correct business English. I had to remind myself that English is the language of business. As an instructor of students in distance education, I have to really encourage the student(s) to visit the Writing Lab. So many of them would benefit by having someone work one-on-one with them.

Without the interpersonal aspect that is found in traditional face to face classes, I have found that online courses needs to use a mix of delivery methods to help students remain interested, and to address some of the various learning styles. Learning objects (short recorded presentations on a particular topic), live synchronous seminars or chats, discussions, use of relevant videos that pertain to the course material, group discussion or chat options for separate groups of students, etc, all can be helpful in bringing variety to the process of delivering content. I would be very interested to hear from other online instructors about ways in which you have varied your presentation of content. John Ragan

Hello Gary; I like to create a somewhat chaotic envornment for the student when they have in class production projects so they begin learn to prioritize, problem solve, deal with stress, take iniative learn to both lead and follow. It usually takes a few times before they realize there is a "method to the madness". Does this approach make an instructor look unorganized in the long run?

Many instructors have their own reasoning for their method...how do you open students to multiple possibilities while still making them follow your methodology, without seeming stubborn or closed minded yourself?

Motivating students is one of the most challenging and most rewarding aspects of teaching. There is always at a student in a class that initially is not interested in school or the particular subject matter. I have found that talking with the student about individual interest and identifying aspects of the class that reflects this interest is effective in changing the student’s attitude. What other methods of student motivation are instructors using?

TO ME COMMUNICATION REALLY IS THE KEY.NOT JUST IN THE CLASS ROOM AS INSTRUSTORS,BUT IN ALL OUR RELATIONSHIPS.JUST LOOK HOW MANY SELF HELP BOOKS THERE ARE ON THIS SUBJECT AT A BOOK STORE.THAT TELLS ME IT CANNOT BE PERFECTED.THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR INPROVMENT IN MY COMMUNICATION SKILLS.YES EYE CONTACT IS ALSO VERY IMPORTANT. I MAKE A POINT TO DO IT HOPING OTHERS WILL ALSO.