I believe that the first week of the course is the most important week of the session/quarter. It definitely sets the tone of the course. (I remember back when I was a college student and would form opinions of a course during the first class meeting). It is sometimes hard to change those opinions once they are formed! So I really do think the first class meeting is extremely important and it is essential for the instructor to be prepared and start the course on time. I also think that expectations of the course need to be discussed during this class meeting. I always use the first half of my first chat/class to go over what my expectations are regarding participation, attendance, assignments, etc. If I, as the instructor, provide good, clear expectations, the students are aware of what is expected, which I believe helps the students to be successful in the course.

I do find myself doing this with my class prep and I have learned new ways NOT to do this and it is making a world of a difference

The first class that I taught at a career college was an eye opener. One of the first mistakes that I made was assuming that since I was dealing with adults, my students would act like adults. Wrong! I've had classes of middle-school students who were better behaved and more respectful. While half of my class behaved as I would have expected, the other half put me through a "baptism by fire". As often happens, it was a case where one "bad apple" on the "challenging" side of the room strongly influenced others in her group. I doubt that there was a day that I didn't have to say "we can discuss that after class if you'd like". The student never ever stayed. I spoke with the student individually outside of the classroom, and soon realized that actions that you and I (and most people) would consider rude or disrespectful- she did not. Fortunately, I knew that administration was behind me and if necessary, I would have asked her to leave the class and advised that she would not be able to come back until we met with administration together. What I tried to do was never lose sight of the fact that I was the instructor and it was my obligation to be firm but to stay calm and treat treat her respectfully regardless of how she treated me. After we spoke one day, and she began to realize that I was not "out to get her", her attitude improved tremendously and she became much less disruptive in class. I think that she also realized that most of her "friends" had already began to realize that I genuinely wanted them all to succeed. I was there to teach and help them. How did I win her friends over? Simply by not allowing the fact that they could have been considered to be "associated" with her to influence the way I treated them. As I worked with this group of students individually, one by one they seemed to begin distancing (although slightly) themselves from her behavior. At the end of the term, students from the "good side" of the room actually wrote in their course surveys that they found it amazing that I never "lost my cool" and that they were impressed with my professionalism and the way I handled the situation over the course of the semester. I often wonder what they might have written if I had reacted to the antagonism with antagonism and handled the situation (most likely with at least a few sarcastic comments) as I perhaps might have been inclined to.

I get a lot of these, our class time is 3 hours long. It is culinary so students want to cook and not sit for lecture so they show up late, and try to leave early. They want to cook, but not clean up. That stuff doesn't fly. Our attendance policy is to rigid about tardies, and if they leave before dismissal for ANY reason, they are counted absent. If you dodge clean-up, you aren't allowed to cook the next day. You spend it cleaning instead. It works pretty well, but we still have those who buck the system.

I noticed that one of the strategies mentioned for managing angry students was agreeing to reassess their work (if that is what they are angry about). In the past, this has been a last resort for me as I found it both rewards anger and is unfair to the other students in the class. I am hoping someone can further explain how this an effective strategy and what positive implementation of it looks like.

Being very firm from day one with the uniform policy at our school has helped me maintain order in class

I have applied the technique of splitting them into smaller groups to get them more involved, but still sometimes it doesnt work. Any thoughts as to how to get them more motivated

what are some better techniques to apply in class for older generation students to make them feel more at ease during lecutures, since they have been out of school for so long?

I think one of the most common mistakes new teachers make is trying to become friends with their students. That said, I am curious as to how other instructors feel about using social networking sites (e.g. Facebook) as a way to interact with students.

I'm an instructor at a for-profit technical school. Although the school catalog lists very specific and strict policies regarding inappropriate behavior by students, the administration rarely backs our instructors. On more than one occasion I have requested that a student be removed from my classroom due to repeated disruptive behavior. On each occasion, however, I was basically told that we cannot afford to lose a student. How is an instructor supposed to adequately manage the classroom when administration is much more interested in focusing on the monetary bottom line?

I have difficulty being seen as assertive and as a new instructor it can be difficult to handle situations that I have never encountered, as I have never taught before. Teaching is different from training. My superiors have mentioned that eye contact is crucial, which I am working on. Are there any other tips someone could offer me?

I am a strong believer that you as the instructor set the tone for professionalism in the classroom that will be picked up by the students and carried out to the work force.

I have a student that has multiple family issues, a terrible outlook on life, tries to intimidate everyone in class. I have had to throw her out of class twice and recently she was removed from my class permanently and has to repeat the class next semester. I tried doing a few things listed in this module by having her write down why she was angry and she wrote down nothing that had to do with the class or myself. What else could I have done with this girl ?

To reduse student cheating the teacher should make different verison of a test or quiz.

Guest Speakers are a very good way of let the students know that they can have success and see success.

Students should show their work. This proofs that the student has a clear understanding or needs more time to get a better understanding.

Things I have learned while teaching is it is ok to admit your mistake and go on from there. I look at it as a learning experience and it is not the end of the world. I have found in my presentation assignment I give to my students in my last term that I did not make myself specific. I think in this next term I plan on having a check list so that students know more what is expected of them for the assignment.

Some Things I do to prevent cheating is to make the test more project based where the student has to do his or her own work. I request a print out with his or her name on the sheet of paper. I also have essays that forces them to write their own ideas on paper. Another idea i have seen is to offer mulitple tests. For example have 3 different versions of the test like Test A, B, and C. So they will not be the same test, therefore each test would require different answers. I usually build relationships with my students and also have a review before we take the test to refresh their minds of the material we have covered.

I find you need to develop relationships with your students. You need to find out what interest them, why they are taking your course, how they can apply the content to benifit themselves, get them excited about you and the course by learning what they are all about.

I find in my classroom. I try to be that teacher I wanted in school. I am constantly encouraging my students. When things come up I feel I am very understanding and like working things out with the student to see them succeed in my class.