I usually have a student activity right after each lecture and it seems to help my students engage in one another.

I don't allow my students to turn in late work unless they have an excused absent. I think that some students tend to take advantage if you allow them to.

I believe many students and teachers alike can develop a successful stress management strategy by first raising their awareness on this issue.

Remembering student names does not come naturally to me. I found early on that if I don't make an extra effort here, it won't happen. Oh, I'll pick up a few names, mostly of those who answer questions or do excellent work. But I won't pick up the names of the quieter students, which is really bad because they may need more attention and it's going to feel really awkward several weeks into the course if I go to help them and can't remember their name! So I usually make a copy of the roster and focus after the first session for just a few minutes, putting faces to names in my head. It won't "take" for all of them right away, but after a couple of weeks I've usually got it down (and I think a couple of weeks in a ten-week course is reasonable). Also, when I do forget a name, I try to put a "happy face" on it, being humorous but not (of course) insulting a funny-sounding name or anything like that. I usually just try to laugh at myself a bit and let the students know it's okay to laugh at me too. It's not like we're going to hide the fact that it's hard to remember a lot of names -- they know that can be tough. But they appreciate the effort, even if it's not 100% successful. They can see that I'm remembering other students' names even if I happened to forget theirs, and usually if something like that happens it sets it in memory anyway so I won't forget that student's name again.

I teach programming, and the large number of in-class exercises I use produces a frequent case of students standing in line to get help from the instructor. One approach I use to address this is having students who have already figured out the answer help the ones who have not. This engages both the good student and the struggling one. There is a down side here in that the good students will sometimes simply give a solution to the struggling student rather than helping them to learn it. I deal with this in two ways: Making this a "class feature" and engaging everyone in the excitement of learning these skills from the beginning of the course, and by rotating through struggling students in subsequent exercise sessions so that I can verify that everyone is learning.

As a technology instructor I get a lot of "center stage students" who are excited about the industry. I like the "observer" strategy, but I am concerned that the student might be insulted by this kind of singling-out. One thing that has helped me from time to time is having a brief 'current events' discussion at the beginning of class. Not only does this give late students a chance to arrive in time to receive the entire lecture (no dodging my lessons!), it also gives me a chance to work the excitement down a notch so we can focus on some detail work. The only drawback of this approach is that it can sometimes be difficult to stop a discussion that runs too long, but experience has yielded a number of tricks here, such as bringing up the discussion again after class is over, giving them a chance to stay after and discuss it some more of they wish.

The first quiz asked what the instructor needs to manage a class effectively. One option was "have a plan and stick to it". But the correct answer was "have a variety of learning activities to offer". I agree that this promotes effective class management, but I would respectfully suggest that having a plan promotes effective class management *better* than varied learning activities. Let me put it this way: Having the students do one or two boring assignments in an otherwise engaging course is far less damaging to classroom management than not having a plan. Though I do agree that the "stick to it" part is not critical, and if that was their point then I agree. It's good to have some flexibility in your plan so that you can adapt based on student input and other discoveries in the classroom. My two bits anyway.

Most of the math courses I teach have more than adequate test generators which I use to create my quizzes, chapter reviews and the chapter tests. I can even make the review assignment multiple choice and the exam a "show the work" test. The program follows one of the concepts explained in this module - leaving a space to the right of the problem to provide your answer, which makes grading the exam a lot easier. One aspect of this test generator I started using this year was to make multiple versions of the same review/quiz/exam. They're the same type of question, but using different numbers. I have four versions I have created - one for each term. Once the new year rolls around, I have all the answer keys for the year, and don't have to worry if someone repeats the course, since the tests won't be the same.

I just stop and say to the student's who are talking that I will wait until they are finished and remind them that this is wasting class time, and usually that is all that it takes.

The style and technique by which you manage a class is the most important factor to students retaining information. The controller and guide combination has worked for me over the past fifteen years of teaching. I see myself more like a coach and I set the standards high and promote self expression and art in my students work.

How do you deal with those students whose primary focus is to be the center of attention?

To get a student to open up I think smaller groups work. The other students break the ice with the silent one and this allows them to speak up and ask questions on an material they didn't understand. This also helps them make some friends in the classroom so they dont feel alone.

Besides exercise and breathing exercises, I find having a hobby I can lose myself in for a few hours a great stress reliever. Anything I can enjoy doing and require my concentration easily helps me calm down and relax.

Being mindful of the diversity in all classrooms seems to help in building rapport and maintaining a level of decorum within the class. I can see where the potential exists to have inadvertently made comments, taken out of context, and redefined from the perspective of the person or person of differing cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is imperative to maintain a non -judgmental approach to the classroom. I think this approach helps in having the non-judgmental environment reciprocated to the instructor.

Our students will respect us more when we are fair, impartial, see that we do in fact make mistakes, but recover from them professionally, and present a good model for them to follow.

We, as instructors, know the pressure for students to cheat; it is a big problem. There were a lot a great strategies prsented in the module, but for me, three things have seemed to have worked well. 1) Talk about it during the first day discussions, 2) arrange the testing room to reduce the chance of this occurring, and the best defense 3) proctor all tests - walk the room and be pesent.

It's rather simple. If you want your students to act professional, come to class, and be engaged, make it active and engaging from the first day. Set expectations, follow through, and hold accountable. They will respond AND respect you for. Thoughts? Rick Piper

When asked what is the best way for learning to occur, there is plenty of research that points to relevance...what's in it for me. While this may sound selfish, it is the essence of learning. If we want our students to maximize their learning, make sure they can see relevance in their lives and as effective instructors it is our responsibility to facilitate that.

Just stopping to take a breath at the peak of a stressfull situation can make it bearable. We have a new fingerprint timeclock at our school that was intended to eliminate paperwork. Instead it created a stressfull daily event for some. As I see a co-worker madly punching their code in I ask them if they are having problems with the new technology. The answer is usually - YES. I have asked them to stop, take a deep breath, think about the clock, and be one with the clock. Then they can proceed without anger and stress. Calmly press the buttons and let the clock do the work. I always get a big smile back after a successfull entry is accomplished.That smile in turn helps me cope better with my day. How do you share and help with others to keep the stress down?

On day one of the course. I tell my students. we all have problems and things going on in ourlives. "if they have a personal thing going on with them and they can not focus. Then I am gladly available for them".I try to help them with and open understanding. Making them more relaxed.We converse and they are very respondant. They are more than ready to go on with their daily tasks. Sometimes they just need to readjust themselves.