Barry Westling

Jennifer, Other good and simpler back up activities are discussion, review, and student summary of class session. These are low tech, easy to implement, and generally enjoyable by students. Barry Westling

Michael, Yes, well trained, and critical thinking employees too. Barry Westling

Walt, Great! This just goes to show the importance of well trained and prepared students, which include good employee tratits (soft skills) that often emphasize and identify the exemplary employees from the rest of the just so-so crowd. Barry Westling

Michael, You're right, with good preparation, classes run smoother, students are more attentive, and the outcome is usually much better. Barry Westling

Crystal, Good point about preparing comprehensive materials. In these settings, the student is not really fully prepared without the preparation the instructor makes to assure the students get all needed information. Barry Westling

Jennifer, We can be role models, but even more, it's our job to be ready, organized, and prepared for class. There's really no excuse for not having everything being in order before class begins. Barry Westling

Walt, Very good! That personal, real life experience is irreplaceable. Barry Westling

Jeanette, Rubrics are great, in that (the hope is) they're specific and limit subjectivity in the grading process. Also, I like that both instructor and student are bound by the same guidelines, and that everyone knows in advance how grading will occur. Barry Westling

Katie, My motto is "frequent and early on" as it relates to sharing grade information. Adult students want and expect to know how they're doing, and I feel it's important to share as much as I can frequently and in enough time to make corrections. I also try to meet in person, as I feel that reinforces the instructor/student relationship, and allows me to convey my interest and care in seeing their successful completion. Barry Westling

Erica, EC is controversial, and is really up to the instructor and institution to decide what will work best for them. I agree that EC has little contribution to real learning and generally, do not participate. I also let students know this at the beginning of a new course, and it's spelled out in my syllabus as well. Barry Westling