Barry Westling

Hi Bindu: Back up plans can be very useful for when what you have planned goes awry. It's bound to happen to even the best prepared teachers somewhere along the line. The key to devloping good backup plans is to assess what resources you can always count on even in the worst of situations, such as the computer lab is down, copier broken, textbook resources absent, etc. Even running out of dry erase markers can be "bad-day" enforcer unless we plan for the worst. Hope your need for back up plans are few and far between. Regards, Barry

Hi Mohammed: You've described a good technique. It seems this reinforces the necessary information you want students to remember. Regards, Barry

Hi Mohammed: Yes, all of the media you listed are effective tools. As it turns out, the way students learn best is by actually doing or teaching the material themselves. Of course, that'd take a lot of preparation and is not conducive to group learning. But it is a fact that doing is the way we learn. If you thought about it, you could probably come up with some specific examples from your own life where this tenet could be demonstrated. Regards, Barry Regards, Barry

Hi Mohammed: True introspection requires a depth of honesty that will truly reveal areas that may need strengthening in an instructors competence and proficiency. In short, one has to be willing to adapt and change, which is a difficult thing for humans in general. So, while we may want to understand ourselves, the more difficult part will be to respond to that new understanding. Regards, Barry

Hi Bindu: Absolutely. Involving students, engaging them in multi-media activities, and utilizing activities that invlove multiple senses are going to result in better student retention of information. Regards, Barry

Hi Karen: Good comment. Hopefully, anything a student is tested on is somehow related and tied back to student learning outcomes(SLO). Good SLO's define what is is that a student will know or be able to do at course completion. Therefore, all testing should relate back to these SLO's. Regards, Barry

Hi Karen: Terrific. Libraries call this the "Vertical Files", information from newpapers, magazines, publications, handouts, pamphlets, etc. It is a great way to provide more current information than that found in textbooks and related "formal resources". Great idea. Regards, Barry

Anthony: Variety is nearly always a success as your post aptly alludes to. Barry

Hi Anthony: Your anaolgy about a family is very applicable. The way an instructor relates to his/her students can be linked to essentially all of the core principles utilized in rasing children. What's key in the family model is that love for the children is at the core. Of course I'm not intimating that teachers love their students in a wrong way, but if that empathy, care and concern is underlying the instructors motivations, I think it will be apparent to the student that the instructor truly cares. Regrads, Barry

Leslie: Your statement about the degree of involvement (animation) provided by the facilitator is quite true. It's what can make the difference between an informative but really boring presentation or one that is meaningful and memorable. Regards, Barry