William Dempsey

As both a student and an instructor in the military classroom, I have always appreciated the value of "foot stompers" A "foot stomper" is something extremely important that you need to pay very close attention to because you will need to know, and be able to apply, that information in the future. Origin of the term (based on a quick internet search): It was the eve of a critical exam for 800 highly select USAF officers at a highly competitive professional military college. The exam would have 50 questions. To make an A you needed to answer at least 47… >>>

Diane, I think that you missed the point. In an academic environment, does it really matter when during the course a student masters the material. If we give a mid-term test on material covered during the first part of the course and a student fails but demonstrates understanding of the same material on the final, isn't that what really matters. Unfortunately often our grading systems are designed to expect the students to master the material on our schedule instead of by the end of the course. I agree with Barry that the true test is how they can apply the… >>>

"Don't read the text on the slide. Make "ad-lib" remarks or supportive commentary about the slide. This gives students additional information about the material that is being presented." This is the single most important and most abused behavior in the classroom today, even amongst experienced instuctors. It is incumbent on every instructor to make sure that they don't fall into this trap. There is nothing wrong with allowing the students to read the slides themselves without hearing the sound of our own voices. I would even go so far as to suggest that you appoint a student the responsibity of… >>>

I was little surprised that we focused on the symptoms but didn't address the underlying condition - fear. All of the behaviors involved can be tied back to a basic fear of failure whether it be unpreparedness of even lack of paying attention (apart from legitimate medical issues). Conquer the fear and capture the students imagination and energy. As John Wayne said, "Courage isn't not being afraid, its saddlin' up anyway". Let's make sure that we create positive learning environments and deal with the issue in a straight-forward, understanding basis. This can also work on an individual one-on-one basis even… >>>