Could someone explain synchronous and asynchronous course formats to me?

In my opinion, we are in control of our behavior; therefore, we can choose to allow which potential stressors are going to stress us out.

I have 2 students in one of my classes and all they behave as if they haven't seen each other for years, talking on and on, while I am trying to present a lesson. I use different strategies to get these 2 to settle down without embarrassing them or calling even more attention to them. First, I get them involved in the lecture or presentation itself; this way they are actually talking on topic and, in giving their opinion, they are taking center stage. Second, when this doesn't work, I call attention to them by asking if there is anything they want to add or tell th class; while this could potentially be embarrassing, it is not for these 2 and they are always more than ready to comment on any subject. The best way to deal with "talkers" is to get them to talk on target and not just chit-chat to each other.

I have found that applying a test of reasonableness to the various situations that come up is a good way to avoid making them into stress generators!

Do you have issues with students not being willing or participate in Icebreakers at the beginning of class?

I have learned that classroom control and respect by students and by the instructor are very closely linked.

I have learned that angry students are rarely angry about school items. Usually they have displaced anger over issues in their personal lives.

A well designed and thorough syllabus also sets the stage for student homework expectations.

In the section on the "Blaming others" students, one of the strategies suggested deals with penalties for lateness. While I agree that there should be consequences for lateness, I disagree with the other suggestion of offering bonus points for turning in assignments early for students "who are in need of course points but can't seem to get things in on time." I am happy to work with a student to figure out what barriers they have to getting assignments in on time, but I don't believe that allowing them to "make up" points serves to reinforce the message that, in the business community, there aren't any "do overs".

My class policy is "no late assignments", for any reason. I find that this is more fair to everyone then trying to decide which excuse merits exceptions. My students know that they can fax, email or have another student hand in their work, but if I don't have it by the beginning of class, it won't be accepted. My grades are also weighted so that missing one assignment won't have a huge affect on the student's grade, but multiple missed assignments will.

I unfortunatly have fallen away from stress relievers because I don't have time for them, being that I have over packed my life and created a lot of stress. I remember when I exercised on a daily basis, I was much less stressed out and even ate better. I can tell that I have developed health issues due to my chroniclly high stress level. It is time for me to commit to better self care and increasing my healthy habits.

Based upon what I have learned from this module, I intend on giving stretching a try. I have never really stretched besides before and after exercise. I am hopeful this will help, as long as I don't pull something and that will really stress me out. Kind Regards, Lee

It may sound ironic, but I work around individuals that all they focus on is stress and how it is caused and how to avoid it, in all honesty, that is stressing me out. I agree stress is all around us, but the lengths some individuals will go to causes other people significant amounts of stress. If I have to listen to one more relaxation CD I think I will go crazy. Has this happened to anyone else? Kind Regards, Lee

I have taught, past tense, at universities where the student's evaluation of the instructor was a primary factor in that instructor gaining tenure and being offered a contract. I believe that student feedback is important for the instructor to grow and become a more effective and efficient instructor. However, not every student is going to agree with the outcome of a course and their grade. Hence the instructor receives a poor student evaluation and the chance exists for the lose of a faculty position. I do not believe this should be the case. What are your thoughts on this? Kind Regards, Lee

That precious resource called time never seems to be on our side. The manner in which we manage it is the key to our success or ultimate failure. However, I have found that those times that I may "deviate" from my task at hand in many instances are productive. Is staying on task important? Of course it is, but as long as we make the most of our limited resource of time, we are the better for it. Kind Regards, Lee

I have the obstacle of immeadiacy. I can keep this under control by prioritising my tasks. The only thing that will interfere with my plan is a procrastinator. This obstacle drives me nuts because these people hardly ever get anything done, increasing my list of things to do, and destroying my carefully constructed plan.

At my technical school I teach a number of classes through out the year, with the different classes I must stay in touch with the changes for each course. Handling the changes for each course is easier to check the manufactures website and any manual changes once a week and then make changes to the course as needed.

I have found through the course of 25 years of teaching that if I make an error in a response or in my presentation, students are going to catch me any way, so why not own up to it and make light of the fact that I was "just testing" them to see if they are paying attention, which I do quite frequently to "break the ice" or simply lighten the mood of seriousness about dangling participles--they are difficult at best and a lighthearted approach helps relieve student tension.

Over the 25 year period of my teaching experience, I have practiced many of the strategies mentioned here. One that will work every time is classroom seating arrangements during testing. Recently I was assigned a class of 16 students in a small room designed for 17 students and a teacher desk, file cabinet and bookshelf. There is little room to maneuver; however, I discovered that our double room, capable of holding 40+ students, was available during my Business Communications class period. Therefore, I designed that on test days we would move to the larger room for testing. Students are allowed to bring with them a pencil/pen and one clean sheet of notebook paper. Each student is assigned a seat with seats empty to the left, right, and in front of and behind them. This placement discourages cheating of any kind and the students appreciated the fact that suspected cheaters were "isolated" during a test.

This was a very good topic. It is in all of our lives and sometimes we need to stop and consider ways of reducing our stresses before they take control of you life