I recently changed my quiz and exam format to an online testing system. While it was a bit tedious and time consuming to create the quizzes and exams, it has saved me a lot of time that I would have had to spend manually grading the quizzes and exams. I also have it set up to where the computer grades the quizzes and exams, the student can see their grade immediately, as well as review questions that were answered incorrectly, and the grade is automatically sent to the grade book. This has saved me time not only in grading the quizzes and exams, but also in entering the grades into the grade book and reviewing the quizzes/test with the students.

I have found through my 32 years of instruction experience that you must establish boundaries for the students. You must set high standards in order to challenge the students but also be flexible in the grading requirements.

I find that having students draw diagrams of what they learned to be a successful formative assessment tool. I use this tool for feedback to me to either slow down or speed up my curriculum. It's interesting to have the students demonstrate their work on the board in front of their peers and encourages mastery and constructive criticism alike. Above all it's active and fun at the same time.

I have found that if you let the student vent brfore class and/or on a break, it will go a long way in defusing the situation. I try to be understanding and offer my help

I have had success by using these students as tutors for students who are behind.

It is vitally important to keep your students informed about the course and to keep them motivated towards the end goal of graduation and employment within the field.

I believe that my procrastination mainly occurs when I try to hard for perfection. I put so much time into preparing the perfect plan or to do list, but in reality I am putting off what needs to be done.

being stress free is not easy as it seems

instructor's stress is all the administrative work that has to be done along with the the work

it is important to use your time wisely

it is important to prioritize

The key for me is always to keep the focus on the lesson. As soon as a student takes the stage away from the lesson or the group activity, then it it becomes my job to direct them back towards are daily class goals. It's a mistake I believe to to allow the behavior to spill over past that point, but when it happens it becomes a matter that I will ask for help with after the class. At the very least an explanation for the behavior will be discussed, and if none can be found, then we search for help from others.

I believe it all starts with setting the expectations up front and having clearly defined objectives. Objectives are critical and students should know why they are sitting in a classroom, what to expect, what they are going to learn, what skill sets they will attain, how it will apply to their profession, how they are expected to learn, retain and apply the knowledge and what methods you are going to employ. The teacher also needs to explain deadlines, due dates and how to manage their time appropriately. Encouraging students to improve organizational skills utilizing electronic calendars is a great idea as well. Students should be asked to self assess prior to the instructor providing the initial assessment so he or she can identify where students may need more attention and or the teacher may need to change their strategy. At the end of the lesson or course the teacher should be able to tie everything back into the objective.

At our school we have split shifts. I find it hard to manage your activities when you go back and forth from days and nights. What seems to help is having a calender ready to write down a task as soon as it pops up in your head. It also helps for those quick changes.

Does anyone have any personal experience when different instructors have different interpretations of the school's dress code? ie- there is a difference in interpretation between instructors? Does this affect the professionalism of the instructor? Chris

my immediate supervisor or other instructor? I'm not interested in dragging him/her through the mud, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable bringing up the complaints to the supervisor directly. Chris

It that one student out of hundreds a year who acts out sometimes on Day 1. I over-react or under-react and the other students lose. That's the stress you can take home. There is a time to ask this person to leave for the day resolve the issue before this person returns to class.

Unfortunately, stress is a part of natural life. Some good, some bad. Finding ways to cope with negative stress will help one to lead a more productive life.

I know from my own experience that when I am stressed out my productivity level decreases. When this happens I look for positive, constructive ways to reduce my stress level to become more productive.

Discovering useful shortcut methods used in grading helps get the task accomplished sooner and is less stressful.