Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Role of instructor personality in delivery selection

Hi Cindy: Great! We all have personalities and preferences for teaching we like. We just need to make sure what we like is not substitutued for what the student needs. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Developing instructional backup plans

Hi Cindy: Not a bad idea. Sometimes, a back up plan is useful when one plan of attack doesn't seem to be working, so we use Plan-B to try to connect and teach the point or lesson. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Awarding extra credit

Hi Cindy: Many teachers would agree with you, even if time were not a factor. We should measure performance against objectives. Points and grades are secondary factors, but are needed to provide an objective grade for the insitutional academic record. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Selecting evaluation methods

Hi Joanna: Recognizing exemplary attendance sounds good if the weight is not too much. We want to measure performance against objectives. It's skills and content that matter the most, more so than grades and points. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Hi Avalokita: So, in essence, it's a planning tool for you and benefits the students as well. Good deal! Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Hi Dr. A: I don't have time for pretesting every class or topic. It does help wihen I begin a new topic for me, or when I receive new students. They seem to like it and it can provide a kind of motivation in what is coming up in subsequent lessons. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Reengaging off-task students

Hi Dr. A: Right. I call these change-ups, which break up the sequence of delivery methods into smaller bits. Just when students begin to tune out, I change the delevery. Not perfect but it does help refocus. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Mistakes made when selecting course content

Hi Dr A: I think this is a good situation for pretesting. But as far as "mistakes", I think teaching is a very dynamic process and we almost never have it completely wired. I would rather like to think of mistakes as opportunities to try a diiferent approach. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Selecting sufficient course content

Dr. A: You've probably found that sufficiency varies and you use the resource(s) that best match the need of the institution and students. It's great to be able to have some lattitude in how you want your delivery. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Developing instructional backup plans

Dr. A: I've found even with muliple trys (plans A, B, C...)still don't hit the mark. But when I finally discover the "plan" the conveys the point, I integrate that into future planning. But each class is different and so a continuing process of discovery is usually required. Regards, Barry