Barry Westling

Vicki, Great! We never know what a difference we may make in ones life. Some are very successful due to our efforts. Barry Westling

Mary, Great! I notice more textbooks are listing hyperelinks or websites for supplenmental or additionl resources. Some texts have many student resources that if used fiully, really contribute to student mastery of the topic. Of course, e-books are becoming increasingly popular, and are loaded with a phethora of useful resource4s, many which tie the reference back to the text book. Very cool. Barry Westling

Lisa, Good points. I belive we can potentially turn our weaker areas into stronger areas if we are willing to work on improvement. This takes determination and humility, as not every action will result in a rousing success. But with persistence, we can become beytter instructors, thus helping studenjts better. Barry Westling

Mary, There is a special connection current students have with their recent peer groups and are able to convey information in way unique to the student-to-student relationship. Usually, while lacking in many years experiences, they make up for it with enthusiasm, personal stories of struggles and successes, and hope that these soon to be graduates can also be successful in the work force. Barry Westling

Norman, Right! Reasonable or not, that is an expectation adult learners have these days...instant everything. And to the degree they are our customers, we should accomodate them where possible. I always use the one on one time to also encourage, support, and offer advice and suggestions. Students appreciate when they feel their instructor cares. Barry Westling

Lima, I generally don't use EC because of numerous past bad experiences. Each institution and instructor has to decide what works best for them. Barry Westling

Norman, Yeah, pretesting is a great tool, assists the instructor, and the ultimate beneficiary is better student, better prepared for their career choice. Barry Westling

Norman, This is why students come to us in the first place. If don't at least do that, students will not be satisfied. Barry Westling

Lisa, Many instructors use a teaching journal to monitor progress, document events, record observations, or make notations for reference at a later date. This can reflect improvement or growth over time. Barry Westling

Brenda, You're right. One of the hardest things for newer instructors is to learn to be fair to all. Good students with likeable personalities cannot get favorded treatment over less interested or students with unlikeable personalities. Offering assistance to all, giving suggestions and advice, and offering encouragement and support to all may take some getting used to, but it has to be that way for all. Barry Westling