W.I.F.M. What's in it for me. When teaching anything always tell them whats in it for them. Why it's important. How it applies to thier daily life. At this point you'll get the buy in you need from them for the rest of the material you've yet to present.

So, I've taught at schools in California and Wisconsin. I have had a lot more cultural issues in Wisconsin. By this I mean, difficulty dealing with people who are a different sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. 99% of my students are white students who grew up in white areas with little to no experience dealing with someone who is different from them. I'm unsure how to help my students become more comfortable with people who are different from the "norm" they have experienced. In California it was a totally different story!

how can i keep a student motivated in todays job market?

What is the best way to keep the student focused, when they are having a bad day?

What is the best way to retain retention for non-subjected students?

I have found that topics regarding issues of diversity can sometimes become more heated in the online environment than in a traditional classroom setting as students cannot discuss these issues face to face taking into consideration body language, etc. What suggestions are there to encourage and support diversity in the on-line classroom?

shouldnt your focus be on the subject matter

how do you direct a lesson plan to 25 different students based on characteristics

how do you help students who have study issues

I have a range of student ages, and have noticed that some of the non-traditional students have some reading/writing/comprehension issues and wonder if they have potential undiagnosed learning disabilities. Is there a diplomatic way to bring this up with them?

With more open access-something good, we often have those who are more at risk. At the same time, we must help the institution maintain integrity. Does anyone run into grey areas?

motivation like an incentive to student make them move forward be positve about themself.

It is import to build a trust between student and instructor inorder that they listen , argue talk about their understanting.

You need bring the discussion in to their real life make to feel the subject in real.

I think to ease leaning process you should get more involve with your student and use all your tool to open subject and bring them in discuss the subject.

I have had classes which lended themselves nicely to small group projects. I find this a great teaching tool but get feedback from students that some members of their gorup provided little input or effort yet were rewarded with a good eval based on the efforts of those that did bust butt. Any suggestions on how to reward the performers in a group project?

I folks, I once had a student in a class who had brain damage, could not find a page number in the book etc., Services wanted to keep her for a "head count," but was it right to continue to enroll someone who we knew might require services or a type far beyond what we might be able to provide? Martha Moore

Why should we shy away from competition? (i understand the intense competition reference, but all the same, that is realitive). Competition is a part of life, especially in our society/economy, and should be recognized and dealt with as such.

what is the best forum, or an acceptable forum for establishing rapport with your students outside the classroom? what has worked for you in the past and can you suggest some techniques that you have seen that are absolutely a bad idea.

There is nothing harder than maintaining focus (both the student and your own) when there is no eye contact, low attendence at Live Chats, and little communication with students. One way is to continutally change your presentations to keep them fresh and to keep you on your toes mentally. Second, continue to bombard your absent students with information - be the 'drippy facuet' in their lives. For some the ability to ignore all those messages gets weaker and they actually start to participate. Finally, there is always the 'shock' treatment method. Some students will only become engaged in the learning process when they realize that your class is not the 'pass through' they anticipated at the start of the session. One of the most difficult things to instill in online students is the sense of urgency and timeliness regarding their assignments. For some the light goes off early - others become discouraged and start to fall behind - those are the ones that you have to work hard to retain and rekindle that spark for learning. In either case, it is up to you - the instructor - to light the spark and keep fanning the flames.