Barry Westling

Hi Mary: Good self perspective Mary. Striving to be and do our best is a high calling for instructors. Regards, Barry

Hi Mary: Pretesting is one of the more helpful way ans instructor can determine where their students still need some work while there's still time to prepare or review. Good. Regards, Barry

Hi Wendy: I agree the "flow" of how the class feels, is arranged, and the tone the instructor create4s all contribute to a wonderfull first day experience. Regards, Barry

Hi Mary: Great idea. Collaboartion with colleagues is very helpful with developing new ideas and discussing solutions to common problems. Regards, Barry

Hi Mary: You're right, some media is better suited for some topics better than others. Thinking about works best in your class is a worthwhile effort. Regards, Barry

Hi Marry: Great! Any method you can use to look forward to class and remain engaged while class is in session is optimal student participation. You have a wonderful approach to teaching your classes. Regards, Barry

Hi Rich: Wow, you've been at it for a while. And the same grading system since (upgraded to electronic grade book). Amazing. Nevertheless, electronic methods of scoring and reporting grades makes for fewer errors and can be shared with student a lot easier than handwriteen methods. Regards, Barry

Hi Jason: Grading on taste seems to be quite a subjective matter. One way ti assure objectivity is to use a grading rubric wherein a number of different characteristics are defined beforehand and a certain number of points are associated with each category. The instructor would then check the appropriate categories. This method is still a bit subjective but at least it's consistent among the students that are being graded by it. Regards, Barry

Hi Stephen: Yes - playing to your strengths will give you and your students an advantage in your istructional role. Regards, Barry

Hi Duane: You have a good point - to think about the class from the students point of view. As instructors we feel we know the lesson material and sometimes fail to recognize that some students have a difficult time trying to grasp the material. Discussing and reviewing are methods to give the instructor an idea where their students are at in the learning cycle. Regards, Barry