Barry Westling

Barry Westling

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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

Hi Jack: In instances where someone else has established a grading system, of course it's expected the instructors follow it. In this setting, an instructor can make sure they have taught the material that is to be tested and that the test questions are accurate to the lesson material. Occasionaly an instructor may feel they have covered the material thoroughly because they understand it. But they find students miss questions on the test. One method to address this is to orally reveiw material before a quiz or test to determine to what degree the students have mastered or learned the… >>>

Hi Jason: Great! One version of a good back up plan (that you alluded to) is discussion about a current topic related to the course. You could break the class into teams and have each share something about a portion of the lesson. Or you organize it into a "compare and contrast" type of discussion with teams attempting to tell why their idea(s) would work better. Regards, Barry
Hi Jason: You have access to some good resources and it sounds like your using them to your benefit in the classrrom. Involving multiple senses, and engaging students in the the lesson will always improve your student learning outcomes. Regards, Barry
Hi Charlie: PPT can be very instructive and add to the lesson, or as you say, too wwordy and boring. It's not just the PPT either. A terrific PPT can be ruined by a sloppy presenter who may be monotonous, read from the slides only, or provide no opportunity for student interaction. Regards, Barry
Hi Charlie: Yeah, bulbs do burn out. Preloading your local classroom computer with your lesson fropm the network may help if the network goes down. But what about if the building power is down for even 10-15 minutes. This situation is terribly disruptive because of the uncertainty of the blackout. That's where Plan-B or Plan-C will be invaluable. Regards, Barry
Hi Jason: Very true - students are perceptive even if they are less than stellar in an academic sense. Instructors can be so much more effective when they have gained the respect of their students. Regards, Barry
Hi Jesus: There can be improvement if the individual recognizes there is a need and is wiilling to take the on-course instruction to make needed corrections. Not everyone is willing. Regards, Barry
Hi Andy: Great point! Looking at things through the eyes of the student positions you to provide a better perspective about how things are going and adapting the lessons to a better fit, that in turn leads to better student learning outcomes. Regards, Barry
Hi Chuck: Small classes may make back up plans a bit easier. The helpfulness of plan-b or plan-c becomes evident when things just don't go the way they're planned. Regards, Barry

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