I find that when I have my students perform a task repetitively to the point that they can do it in their sleep that is when the ah-ha moment comes....finding them doing something that is very easily done now that they have done it so many times they can clearly see how they have progressed over the amount of time from their beginning of the class. This lets me know confidently that no matter where this student goes into they can perform this task easily.

I find that midway through the course if I give the class a knowledge review or quiz and they can actually see just how far they have come from when they first started the class....then as I go over the quiz and we see how well they did I will ask the class just how many feel they could have passed this quiz before taking the class...and then they see everyone in class are all in the same boat and that they are all learning together....this really proves to them that they truely are getting the information and making progress.

I have found that by building good rapport with students, understanding them, knowing about their hobbies, and interests, but not being too personal has helped me, help them with a little better approach to some of the ways I would deliver the information to them by knowing what excites them and by putting that excitement into their education and the delivery of the information I give them.

We get all types of students age,ethnic,disabilities. We have to adjust and Instruct to there needs. We need to cater to the class thats in front of us at that time and the next class we have will be completly different.

Regarding cultural diversity, I remind the students that if they speak other languages, put that on their resume. It may help them to aquire a job.

Your attitude towards the subject,school, curriculm, etc, will be noticed by the student body. Be positive, love what you do, and be excited about the subject matter. If your not, ask to be cross-trained to a new clinic so you will be challenged again.

The other day a student was sleeping in my class. I stopped class and told him that he had to keep awake. I gave him suggestions on how to do this. The student jumped out of his chair and told my that he had a medical problem and I didn't care about him. When I got to him as he was trying to leave the building I told him I do care. I explained to him that I have a son with the same disability, I also told him that I'm the kind of person that looses sleep over things like that. we talked awhile and I found out that he was out of medication which was the root of the problem. I gave him a few suggestions to fix the problem and now this student is doing great. Communication is the Key. I've also had simular situation go the other way. Teaching is a never ending battle to communicate.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with students that only hear negativity? No matter what I say to this one student, she just shuts down and accuses me of putting her down. She really twists my words around. I don't have this problem with any other student. It is almost to the point where I will just not say anything so that she won't get the wrong idea. She's got plenty of potential, but her attitude is holding her back.

I am curious of some strategies to get students to show up on time. I teach 8:00am classes and I find, even though they registered themselves for the morning class, it is "too early" for them to be prompt. They often come in thirty minutes late. I have tried encouragement or not providing them with the notes for the day but it does not seem to be effective.

I always introduce myself to my class, with my background and some of my personal info. I believe that this gives the students an oportunity to see that we are also human and in some cases alot like our students.

I find that on the first day of my class, that when i go around the room and have students introduce themselves and say where they are from, is a great ice breaker. This also gives me as the instructor, a chance to make small talk with each student, it also turns out that alot of the student may live close to one another. This helps in recognizing some of the characteristcs of your students as well as identifying some familiararity with other students that may be able to assist students with some issues.

I always make a point to know as much as possible about my students so that if they need my help with anything I know about them, their home life, their family, their time restraints, etc. I think it is important in developing a rapport with your students to know what they are all about.

I have found it very motivational to have guest speakers and to take students on field trips.

I have found it very helpful to have guest speakers or take students on a field trip. This helps to reinforce there reason for coming to school.

This can be a very important tool when your students have a hard time with a particular topic. I feel that this concept can help me as well.

I have found it important that initially dealing with student frustrations can be a great help in the long run. If you let it go on unresolved it will continue to be a problem.

On the first day of class I have printed tent cards with their names on them and underneath their name it says Automotive Technician. The tent cards look professional with our company logo on them. This does two things, one I remember their names very quickly, and also reinforces the fact of why they came here, and what they are to become. I also have a tent card that says Automotive Technician. This says Big Me and Big You. If I have any problems pronoucing their names we take a minute and phonicly spell their names. Like Mine is Mr. Knee-rad. What are you guys doing?

Yes, I agree that if an instructor uses the "ah, uhm" frequently when answering a questions, the reliability of that instructor's answer might also be in question.

Instructor's humor about class topic, students' involvement in relating class topic with their life experiences and guiding them to succeed in class are most of the ingredients to student retention.

Building a rapport with students should be something that an instructor strives to do. If we can build a rapport, then we can build trust. If the trust is there they will reach their full potential