I never sit down when I teach a class. I can't. When I'm in front of a classroom I feel like I'm on. It's my obligation to engage my audience for the next 1 to 2 hours and I take that seriously. Sitting down, to me, implies that class is a converstation. And while there will be dialogue, I want to ensure that the words go in the direction that is best for the material being learned. I rarely have behavior problems in my classroom because I seek out the students that aren't engaged in the work and do what it takes to reel them into the course. It may be catching them doing something good and telling them I notice. It may be a compliment in the hall, or a private "thank you" for coming to class. Also, there is an old saying in education, "You will never know how much your student can do until they know how much you care." So, I let them know I care. Sometimes telling them is enough. Sometimes I have to show them. Showing them sometimes means giving them a break on a late assignment, with a promise that they won't get behind again. No two students are a like and sometimes it's not easy to know how to reach a particular student. That's where listening comes in for me. In the words of Stephen Covey, "seek to understand, and then to be understood." Of course he was talking about it a slightly different context in his book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," but I believe the principle still applies.

Some of the challenges from students comes from a combination two characterisitics. Aptitude and Persistance. Aptitude is the student's ability to grasp the material and persistance is the student's effort put forth for learning. A student with a high aptitude and a high level of persistance knows a lot and tries hard. We like these students because they make teaching easy. They get it the first time and they are willing and eager to learn. A student with a high aptitude and low persistance are the ones we view as "lazy." These students would be hard pressed to get an extra point at the end of the semester if they were bordering on an "A" or a "B." The student with a low aptitude don't usually get it the first time around but they hang in there. They come for extra help. They stay after class and ask questions. These students are the ones that we appreciate and come the end of the term and they're close to a "B," they will tend to get the extra point to help them over. Then there is the student with a low aptitude and low persistance. These students, unfortunately, characterize most of the students we teach. These students to get things every easily and they give up the moment something seems insurmountable. These are the students that miss class frequently and have many excuses for not turning in assignments. Remember, we are a career college. Our students either weren't planning to, or weren't prepared to go to college. But it's incumbant upon us to help them change. One of the best ways I know to increase effort is by decreasing the preceived difficulty. For example, in the beginning of the semester I may give a quiz that everyone can pass. This builds confidence, and provided it's not too easy, it creates a sense of accomplishment. This actually creates a kind of feedback loop. Once the student experiences a success, that motivates them to try more. Then they experience another succes and want to try more. The caveat is, the opposite is also true. If the work is perceived as too diffucult, our typical student will want to bail. So, to deal with the low aptitude and low persistance student I take it one success at a time.

In a world where televsion dominates our lives, we have become accustomed to "commercial breaks." Watching television as a kid I can remember RUNNING to the bathroom during a commercial break and feeling a sense of accompllshment when I got back to my favorite cartoon before the commercials were over. Back then it was a rare thing. Today, we can bake cookies in the time it takes for a television show to return from a commercial break and the breaks are more frequent (good for those with prostate problems, I guess). But the point is, this has affected our attention span. I've seen it in the classroom of high school students and I see it in our college students as well. To adapt to this cultural phenomenon I apply the television commmerical break philosophy to my lessons. It's the 10:2 rule. For every ten minutes of me talking (the show) I take a 2 minute interaction break (the commercial) to allow students to process what was just taught. It may be a "talk to your partner" or an "create a question about..." It's just something to keep their attention in the fashion that students are used to, one scene at a time. And of course, we do take a bathroom break and allow them plenty of time to return before the show begins again!

For several years now, I’ve been building and maintaining a SharePoint-based web site to support all of the courses I teach. Among the tools available, each course has its own “links” area, and students are shown on the first day of class how to access my web site and choose the appropriate ‘links’ page for their course. The list of links can be expanded throughout the course, but the link to the course syllabus and standard course components on my site remain available all term long. Some classes have their own wiki area (they LOVE using this for collaborative work), other courses have their own online discussion area, and some courses are provided with their own ‘shared files’ area. All files have an ongoing ‘activity list’, which shows class activities, assignments, upcoming exams, and due dates. I rely on it myself to recall what I’ve scheduled and planned. Students submit completed work to a specified area or list on the site, and, since our school establishes logins for each student, I can set the permissions so students each only see their own postings, but, as the instructor, I see the list of all items that have been submitted. Once students get the hang of it, it’s an INCREDIBLY helpful way for them to submit work (and I know exactly when it was submitted). Also, students have an online copy of their work files should the worst occur. One drawback I’ve noticed is that recently (within the last year or two) students don’t seem as interested in visiting the course site or participating in online course discussions. I think it may be the layout of the sites or forums, combined with the expectation that the site(s) act in ways similar to ‘social’ networking sites to which they’ve become accustomed. So, I’m curious if anyone’s been successful in using or integrating sites such as facebook or services such as twitter as forms of course management or class communication?

I sometimes have troble pronouning students names (especially some of the last names), what would be the best approach?

I sometimes encounter a type of student who thinks they are an "expert" on the course material and likes to challenge my course material or test my subject knowledge. In some cases, I have "assigned" that individual to research and return to me additional information to support their argument. Sometimes they proudly come back with something new and valueable. Sometimes they have no comeback.

I found that a good hobby release stress and clear your mind.

Being a new instructor, it is difficult to deal with students that demonstrated lack of interest. In the working field, you handle the situation differently with an employee. It seems that there is so much you can do within the teaching field. You try several ways to gain the student interest but ultimately it is up to the student.

It is important to continually self-critique your interaction with students especially if you are a new teacher.

What's the secret? It seems that being prepared isn't always the answer. How do you avoid running out of things to do/teach for the day?

Somebody please tell me how to shut these students up...

I have issues with this subject with only a small percentage of my students. I would like to know more about how to deal with it.

I have trouble with this area as well. I often find it difficult to speak about myself without sounding like a bragart, or as though I'm showing off my qualifications. Is there a way to state your qual's w/o boasting. and still sound convincing?

Good preparation is the best "defense" against challenging student behavior. Always have more prepared than you think you need for each lesson or activity.

As a new instructor I remember totally stressing out on developing my lesson plans. I have learned that classroom management is the most important part of teaching. Yet, after taking a couple of these online courses, I have learned that developing a lesson plan is extremely important to classroom management. No wonder I was stressing about my lesson plans. As instructors, we have a strong knowledge base and I often find myself wondering which direction to go and focus on. There are three basic steps to developing a lesson plan that I have found very helpful. 1st, pick a topic to teach and discuss and introduce the students to this topic through lecture and a quiz. 2nd, design an activity so students can interact and practice what you introduced. 3rd, design an assessment. Include review activities in-between each part. Following these three steps will allow you as an instructor to focus on the students rather than on yourself. What are methods that help you develop lesson plans and a classroom management plan?

I love to exercise and it always helps me deal with work and life stress. I do my exercise at a gym early in the morning to eliminate the day getting in the way of my exercise. I start at 5:30 am so there is little else to get in the way of my completing an exercise program. This also helps me to get to sleep at night.

Stress is a natural aspect of life without it we would be less than productive. However, sometimes I find myself stressing out over getting everything done and doing it well. Come to think of it I have been stressed since notification that I needed to complete some Maxxknoweledge units. Trying to fing the quiet time to do so with teaching, family, grading and being a doctoral student is hard. Now here I am and soon I will cross this off the list......

I enjoy grading because students often teach me about new aspects of the subject. I realize that it is time consuming but I try and give assignments that will result in good solid reserach and as a result the task becomes a learning experience as well as part of my job.

I love to use either outlook, if I am at my desk or a simple pocket size notebook if I am away. when I return to the office I add my tasks to Outlook. These tasks are rank ordered each day and the completed ones are left (strike through) to show what I have completed, good feeling!

I find that one of the main new instructor mistake is that they start "too easy" and then try to pull in the reigns of the class later one. The instructor is never really able to do so. It would be better start very "strict" and stick to your stated expectations. Later once you have control of the class and the respect of the students you can relax a little and still have good classroom management.