Barry Westling

Hi Christine: Great! I'm glad to hear you can get some practical techniques from the course. Just to reiterate, sometimes it doesn't take much to "break the spell" of inattention. Simple is always better if it will achieve the desired results. Regards, Barry

Hi Dennis: Here's my premise. First, I try to provide an environment where my student feel I'm approachable, care about their success, am honest, and try to be natural in my delivery. I feel I can then share good or less than wonderful progress in such a way that the students are willing to listen and heed any assistance or offers on how they ca do better. I try to personalize the connection each time I meet with a student. Regards, Barry

Hi Dennis: Sure, and that's where being a student centered teacher comes into play. When our focus is on student needs, the student outcomes will just be better and the student will feel more informed about needed course work. Regards, Barry

Hi Dennis: This is a challenge for many instructors as they have no control over who enters or enrolls in their classes. The question of lowering the curriculum standards to satisfy the weaker students really doesn't help students learn what they need. Best fit can be handled in admissions, along with efforts by faculty involoving tutoring, remediation, and active, positive encouragement. Regards, Barry

Hi Dennis: Good, valid comments and post. Good teachers are sensitive to what their students needs are. And like you've pointed out, these needs may be overshadowed by instructor preference. The best guidline I can give is for instructors to adhere to the defined Student Learning Outcomes, and daily lesson objectives. If these are taught thorouhly, students should receive all the essential instruction related to a course or topic. Regards, Barry

Hi Peter: Individuals outside your organization should not be making these kind of decisions. That said, my advice is to analyze what information and skills the student is supposed to accomplish at completion. From there, I would suggest you look at which components contribute most to identifying the student has attained the desired proficiency. From there, you should be pretty close to defining your component weights for the class. Many times, there is a trial and error aspect to grading systems. You might have to experiment a little to find the right balance, one you're satisfied with. Regards, Barry

Hi Christine: This is a very good point, and underscores the benefits of doing something like pretesting. This activity can provide students with preview of whats to come, what will be covered, how to prepare, and what they'll be laerning. Sounds like a great way to start off a class. Regards, Barry

Hi Christine: This sounds like a great activity. I believe it would effectively get folks back on track. Sometimes, students just lose attention, are preoccupied or feel the information is not interesting. It may take just a simple "snap" of refocus, such as a joke, asking a question, changing media delivery format, ask someone to summarize the past five minutes...whatever, just something that resets the class to continue on in the lesson. But other times, a whole different activity may be needed. Yours is great. Regards, Barry

Hi Tony: Sounds like you use your journal as a "living document" more than a record of past thoughts. That's great. Maybe others do as well but you're the first to make reference to it here in these posts. My classes are full and always have more than enough essential information to share. Even so, I add (post it) notes throughout my existing curriculum binder to remind me of improvements I want to add. Some of this becomes incorporated into the official curriculum, while other information is time sensitive, and loses it's importance after a time. Regards, Barry

Hi Kate: Teachers who journalize or keep notes recognize the benefits of making each succesive class a little better. Failing memory may a very small component, but I think good teachers are always thinking about how they could improve this or that, or try something different. Personally, I use post-it notes or half sheets of paper inserted in my curriculum binder. That reminds me of past thoughts and improvements I want to make. Regards, Barry