Susan Polick

Hi Amy - From your posts to the forums I see that you run a very interactive classroom - excellent work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and all the best in 2010! Susan

Hi Terry - Thank you for your post! I really like the idea of asking the student to discuss the off topic question during break. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and all the best in 2010! Susan

Hi Amy - Thanks for your post! Varying your assessments is an excellent strategy. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and all the best in 2010! Susan

HI Laurie- Welcome to ED 103! Thank you for a very useful post. You point out that at times, especially when you are asking your students to take the active role in the classroom, it makes sense to "retire" temporarily and let them take things over for a while. Excellent! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and all the best in 2010. Susan

Hi Peter- Welcome to Ed 103! Thanks for the reminder to concentrate on the learning objectives when creating assessments - good advice! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and all the best in 2010. Susan

HI Diane - I can feel your energy through your post! Your students are most certainly energized- great work! Susan

Hi Deborah- Welcome to ED 103! I think that's a great way to get students to participate. They can learn from your own experience and by assessing themselves learn how they think they can improve. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and all the best in 2010!

Hi Pierre- Thanks for your post to the forum. You describe an excellent usage of CATs - great work! Best wishes - Susan

Hi Scott - welcome to Ed 103! It is always delicate trying to engage the tentative students without making them more uncomfortable. I liked your suggestion about referring to something the student may have mentioned previously. I try to keep notes on my students that remind me if they have had some special experiences or accomplishments that I can ask them about in class when it is relevant. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and I hope you have an excellent 2010! susan

HI Pierre- Welcome to ED 103! You are exactly correct - the essay assesses higher order thinking as students are asked to pull together everything they know on a given topic. Best wishes for continued succes in your teaching career and all the best in 2010!! Susan