It's interesting to me to consider the "model" aspect here. I tend to run a very informal classroom where the students laugh a lot and enjoy themselves. I'm convinced they learn well in this setting, but am not sure I'm modeling in the way this module suggests. Will my students go into the world and fail because they've learned informality?

I have a unique teaching experience. I teach business management and I also do site visits to my student's place of employment. These site visits are an integral part of the teaching experience. I am lucky enough to deliver content and I am able to follow up on the applications. It allows me to get immediate feedback. I can go over lecture material that was covered in class with practical application and it allows me to refocus my content in order to get better outcomes. I truly have the best of both worlds. If I cover a subject but in real work setting the students are not understanding what I am saying I can go over how I delivered it and readdress my style.

I use an addendum in my class becuase our text book is not the best. In the addendum. I have the items they are responsaible for and the demos I will be doing for that day. I am considering adding some more things too it to help the students.

I have found the best way to develop my skills is to create mentoring relationships with terrific instructors. I am fairly new to teaching and have a great passion, but feel I am in the infancy stages of my instructional professionalism. Spending time with confident, experienced faculty helps me to pick up their good habits and build my own sense of professionalism in the classroom.

Hello, I have been teaching for less then a year now and I have noticed one constant with every class that I have had to this point. I get usually 1, somtimes 2 students who want to participate with anything I ask for feedback on. Do I let these students keep talking, or do I stop them and let them know we have others that need to participate? I don't want to take the spirit from these students, but I know other students would participate more if these couple students didn't chime in on every question. Does anyone have any suggestions for me?

What do you think? What nonverbals?

Appearance is important to the students. Professional appearance, not only of the instructor, but also the classroom, notes, materials, etc., give the student confidence in the quality of their education.

Answering the steps of planning has really helped me in creating opportunities to be successful in the classroom.

The ability to control a classroom positively I find to be a tremendous asset in learning.

That first impression on the first day, especially your appearance and non verbals really sets the tone.

Create a positive environment is the key in my experience.

With limited class time, are there some ways we can streamline the introduction/ overview/ requirements portion of day 1? Or is that a bad idea?

How have you found the library useful in developing technical, professional, or personal skills? Has there been a particular book or article that you've found useful? And... shameless plug: Your school's library can help you to develop professional / teaching skills. Libraries purchase books, ebooks, and databases about teaching. Ask your local librarian for details.

I would like to know or if teachers subscribe to handing out bonus/extra credit projects. This has been a real question for me. I am not sure if this is something that should be on the sylabus at the beginning of the class or given to individual students to bring up their grade. It is a question that is faced in grading and I would like to know how teachers handle it. josh

Some times there are students, who take your gentle and polite behavior for granted. how do we effectively deal with this problem with out hurting them?especially when they are argumentative and say they are also grown people?

I am a very upbeat person and tend to try to keep my students on the optimistic side of things. When they start to complain about how much home work they have, I remind them that in x-amount of weeks it will be all over, and they will be that much closer to graduation and into their careers. I also remind them that without practicing by doing homework, they might not retain the knowledge necessary to compete for their jobs. Some students appreciate this motivation, others find me too "cheery" I have trouble finding a mid-point.

I use every quarter break to vigerously prep my upcoming courses right down the ppt lectures, quizzes and exams, syllabi, study guides, in class assignments and homework. I worked harder during break week than any other time during the quarter yet I can't tell you how relaxed and less stressful I feel during the quarter itsself. Often times I show up 5 minutes before my class, say hello to colleagues who are frantically working up an assignment or exam, go into my office, take out the information I need for class that day (which I might have prepared weeks earlier) and go to my class feeling refreshed and ready to go. Although I rarely get to enjoy complete time away, I never really feel the stress that many do during the term.

I am interested in learning how instructors vary their teaching styles in one lesson particularly online to reach as many students as possible.

It is very important to know the diversity of the students', because many adults are retuning to college and their needs are different from the younger college students.

I've been teaching for less than a year, but I've found that there are a few activities that have worked for me for every first class meeting so far, so I thought I'd share. 1) I make my syllabus review as interactive as possible. When I want students to focus on particular policies, I ask them to take turns reading these aloud and then I paraphrase them when the students are finished. I ask questions of students to make sure they understand my expectations, objectives, etc. 2) I use an icebreaker that students really seem to like. To begin, students break into pairs and spend 10 minutes interviewing each other about anything they would like to know: program of study, work, family, pets, hobbies, favorite music, food, etc. I ask them to jot down their partners' answers so they can reference these later. Then, we come back together as a class and the pairs take turns introducing each other to the class. I think this activity is particularly effective because it allows every student to establish a friendly connection with at least one other student. Additionally, students who feel shy or who have lower self-esteem aren't made to talk about themselves in front of the entire group. 3) I also use an activity that gets students thinking creatively and critically on the first day. (I teach a first-year composition class.) I break students into groups and tell them they will be doing a little group writing assignment. I give each group a specific audience (toddlers, business professionals, nursing home residents, etc.) and a specific purpose (to inform, entertain, persuade, etc.). Then I tell all groups that their topic is hula hoops, and that they have to create a piece of writing that addresses that audience & purpose. (One example would be: persuade nursing home residents to purchase hula-hoops.) After students have worked together in their groups to write this small piece, they come together and share it with the class. My students have a lot of fun with this. The activity establishes rapport among us, and it also illustrates different kinds of rhetorical effectiveness. So that's my first day. I'm looking forward to learning other methods and activities that I can use to make other class meetings just as effective and meaningful as the first day!