I understand the importance of scheduled demonstrations & we predominantly use only planned demonstrations. I teach in a medical program though, sometimes very dependant on the cases that walk in the door & when they do come in as to the types of tests/procedures we will be doing. (they don't always come in on the days of parasitology lecture or hematology, etc.0 Typically, the other main instructor & I will try to gather as many students as possible if we have something unusual/unique. This can involve "rounding up students from the lounge". After reading the material on demonstrations, should we not "disrupt" the students? We tell them point blank when they enroll & during the classes that if something "cool" comes in, we'll show as many as possible, even if they aren't in that course. They may not have that opportunity again. Should we approach it differently?

I frequently use a printed short bio that details my professional qualifications outside of school. Students seem to appreciate knowing that their instructor has actually participated in the music industry, instead of merely teaching about it. They can see a list of the groups I've performed with, album projects I've worked on, agency and management contacts, promotional work I've done, etc. Also, within our online instructor information, I provide a link to my efolio, which details my work and educational background, and gives some professional samples.

I have found when I teach a subject that may have several 'mini-subjects' imbedded, the students can get lost easily. To help keep things moving along and the students engaged, I take a break btwn the 'mini subject' and apply it to a real life scenario/hands on activity when possible. Has anyone else encountered a similar problem?

I teach online classes and I have included a short audio file along with a welcome email to introduce myself. I also include my photo in the instructor area. I think this helps students in online classes know that they have a real instructor and not just a robot.

I am becoming a new instructor and just beginning my instructor training. I am very confident in my experience, and knowledge of the subject matter. I am very interested in some opinions about establishing and maintaining the teacher student relationship. Your advice and experiences to help develop my own personal teaching style would be greatly appreciated.

I'm wondering how important the order of the "steps" of first-day considerations are. I always cover all of the points you've listed in a natural flow, but not necessarily in the sequence you specify. I'm thinking that the order must be somehow vital, since we were tested on it. Any insight for me?

I have been teaching for the past nine years and have a good understanding of the benefits in taking these online courses. I feel they reinforce the things I do well and help to provide insight into areas I can improve upon. My question is, what are some ways to motivate other instructors to buy into the same thought process?

I find it helpful (and necessary) to review and "tweak" my syllabus addendum each term as I get to know the habits of students. This serves to clarify concerns before they occur, both on my part and on the part of the student.

When I started teaching in a small school in Berlin, the other teachers and I would always get up from our chairs in the break room right before classes started and yell, "It's showtime!" The idea was, our students were mostly adults who had just finished a long day at work, barely had time to eat dinner (if that), drove through traffic and were pretty tired, hungry and grumpy. Our job was to make them glad they made the effort to show up. We had enthusiasm, smiles, quick fun activities right off the bat and then jumped right into the lessons. Our students suddenly caught a second wind and there would be laughter, smiles and eager questions. To this day, I always hear a voice in the back of my head yell, "It's showtime!" whenever I bound into a classroom. We sometimes take it for granted that students show up in our classrooms - I think it is very important that you make them WANT to show up and make every start of every class be dynamic. Oh, and don't even think about sitting down at your desk for at least the first 15 minutes...walk around, go to the students, stand in the back of the room, keep moving, don't stop. I sometimes teach an entire class and never once sit at my desk! Trust me - try this approach and watch what happens BTW, my student retention rate has always surpassed every expectation, no matter where I have taught.

You must look at the needs of the students as well as the coarse content to find out what maywork in the classroom.

You need to be direct and print everything out for the student so that they have a reference. I find that you need to be very direct about what you are wanting them to get out of the class and expectations.

What strategies have you implemented for making a course’s content relevant and applicable to the learning needs of students? I try to use case studies and relevant local news to show how the material is relevant to the students everyday life.

Previous management was very clear regarding prepare for anything. Having enough materials if copies not made, technology failures and possible lack of enthusiasm. This has helped through the years. Similar to a restaurant; think on your feet.

While we should strive to cover everything in the syllabus, how much is "too much"? Will students take the time to review something more than 2 pages?

Often times I find it difficult to motivate online students. I try to emit enthusiasm through emails and discussion boards, but sometimes it seems like such a small percentage of the class "hears" me. Since I don't often get to see their feedback in the form of facial expression, or body language, I find myself calling students to build a rapport. Since I teach both residential and online I do my best at making the quality of education equal and setting the "bar" the same. However, with such different formats, they both have unique challenges. Colleen Norgren

My wife has her PhD in educational psychology and always gives me advice to improve my teaching. One of her easiest suggestions concerns passing out the syllabus. She never passes out the syllabus first; too boring. Rather, she piques the students' curiosity by presenting some particularly interesting material first. Only later does she finally pass out the syllabus. This way, it gets the course off on a positive note...

In the area of planning it is important to take into consideration everything that can go wrong in a class room and have a backup. Be prepared if your powerpoint projector doesn't work or if the video you just viewed doesn't work. Electricity goes out or bulbs burn out, speakers don't show or you take more or less time to go over a subject. Always think ahead. Always keep your calm and have a backup plan.

With my math classes, I have found that students generally come into class with very polarized views of the subject. In their prior education the have either found that they enjoy the topic and learning additional techniques and methods or they have struggled with the topic and have determined that they really will have no practical application for the material we are going to be covering. In order to keep the entire class engaged, I find the Motivator role of the instructor very important. Within this role it is important to engage the students who begin the class with a self-induced barrier to really engaging in the class for fear of failure ("This material isn't really useful to me" is a clear signal that someone has struggled with it in the past and is rationalizing). Keeping the tone of the class "light" and acknowledging the progress students are making as well as giving examples in their everyday lives that the concepts can be applied really seems to help dissolve the "distancing" some students do at the start of a quarter.

Teaching for the first time I am looking for some resources on good icebreakers, any suggestions?

A few courses I teach don't have any formal exams. The students basically are taught how to use the software applications, have tons of hands-on learning in the class, then construct a midterm and final project of what was learned. I used to give thousands of sheets of papers of handouts with keyboard commands and make them take a test but found it really didn't help them learn the application. Constant reinforcement in the class, asking questions, quizzing students on the fly, and getting excellent high quality projects out of them in the end I found was a good approach. After a year, the students may have forgotten many of the keyboard commands, but knew how to use the applications with ease. It is a matter of constant practice. Does anyone not have formal exams in any of their classes?