Most adult learners are most likely to have had a learning disability identified by this stage in their career. Recognize that the average attention span is about 15 minutes. Change your method of presentation frequently and maybe ask that particular student a question on material previously covered to help keep that students attention.

Identifying certain behaviors of students can help you intervene quickly and directly to the challenge presented to the instructor. If you explain your goals and objectives in a firm, clear and concise manner you may achieve a level of acceptance from your class.

One way I do that is to talk about a contemporary problem that is in the news...it gets the student to think about what they hear in the news and it also keeps me in tune with their mindset as I go forward.

Objective tests tend to increase the chances of this happening. I try to use short answer and an example in my quizzes and tests

This happens each class I teach, after a couple of weeks I suggest tot he student that he/she may be affecting others who want to speak in class but are not having a chance because of them

I like the use of different colored paper when creating the course direction.

I always tell my students on the first day of class my academic credentials and my experiences. I feel that students should know their Instructors experience in their fields of expertise.

One of the ways that I have noticed some Instructors use in college is to use 2 tests in testing, each one with the questions arranged in a different order. That way students cannot look at another student's test next to them for answers.

I have a variety of small foam rubber objects that I toss around in class to the students to get them energized after a complex topic. Thanks

When meeting my classes for the first time. I start my introduction whith the fact that I was a former student where I now instruct, and share a breif recap of my sucsess of being a graduate. The whole class settles down and you can see the calm on all their faces.

Although one has assumed the role of instructor, it is still always better to remember that to error is human. Try not to be above making mistakes, but be about learning from them. Correcting the oversight in front of the class not only shows morals, but sets the stage for honesty. They are learning from the example you are leading by.

If you can take a few minutes to speak to him or her to see if you can identify what type of help is needed, it might reduce the temptation and increase better study habits. Some students cheat simply due to ashamed of undeveloped learning habits. With encouragement, this might improve greatly.

If you are presentated with a student who has a low attention span, try to incorporate class projects and make that student project leader or manager of the assignment. Once that students has some responsibilites, he or she will be more willing and receptive to the new found role.

I have recently found that the more you engage your personal life experiences into your introduction, the less tention students release and become more involved and somewhat excited in the conversation. They are more receptive and willing to participate.

The vast majority of tests we give are multiple choice. We don't have Scantron, so instructors grade these by hand. Since each test is usually 10 or 20 questions and the answer sheets are in columns of 5, grading tests by pattern recognition becomes very easy. Comparison of the pattern on the student's answer sheet to a master key allows instructors to mark wrong answers from top to bottom of the sheet, not from question 1 through 10 or 20. Using this system is quick and effective, and becomes a huge time saver. Another time saver in grading multiple choice tests is to have an answer sheet with the correct answers hole-punched out of it. Simply marking the student's sheet where there is no answer seen in the hole allows rapid, accurate grading.

What do you do when a student comes in crying about thier grades?

I have had instances that a student is "locked-in" with respect to their negative attitude towards instructor, school and education, as a whole. All possible ways to encourage the student to focus on positive side failed. I agree that there are limited boundaries to this behavior - letting go of the student.

Hi Patricia and class, I once had a disruptive student due to his language - profanity was used in every sentence. When I spoke to him privately, he reminded me that he was an artist and artists speak this way. I reminded him that we have rules in the class and I expect every student to follow these rules and one of the rules (as mentioned in the syllabus) is that profanity will not be tolerated - and this has nothing to do with being an artist or business person. If he could not abide by the rules, then he would no longer be welcomed in the class. I did not have any problems thereafter....I wondered if this student was trying to see how far he could go..... What are your techniques/methods to control profanity in your class?

Hi Ms. Scales, Your discussion in this topic is very true-to-life class scenarios. I really like the way they were presented. You are right that instructors should conduct their class in various different ways to connect with their students. I have similar cases of students behavior and what you suggested are very applicable as I already tried some of them.

I like the idea of eliminating and reducing what stressor there are that fit those categories. I think once that is done, the other stressors that cannot be eliminated will now seem as if they can be at least dealt with. These are good examples to take to the students. They can feel loads of stess just like the instructors, but they also look to instructors to be good examples. Very good tips to deal with stress.