Barry Westling

Marco, What you describe is a real possibility. It's interesting that as paid employees of or schools we work in there are instructors who would come to class unprepared. This is really quite arrogant, and really, an insult to our students who have sought as out to be their facilitators of knowledge. Barry Westling

Diane, That's great to first try to understand why students may be off task. Other reasons besides what you've listed are illness, not prepared, prior knowledge is weak, are confused about what the assignment is, or distracted by other non-school matters (financial, childcare, work, relationships, transportation, etc). Many times there's little we can do about these behind the scenes stuff, other than listen, if the student wants to talk about it. Nonetheless, while they're in school, getting them engaged and keeping them focused is our target goal. Barry Westling

Roberto, Students are so easily distracted, something seemingly so minor such as a less than fully prepared instructoir can mean the difference between the students being engaged and focused, to them zoning out and caring little about the daily lesson. That's our responsibility to make sure they stay fully engaged. Barry Westling

Leigh, I agree one on one, early on, anf frequent chats do the most to help students know both where they're at, and suggestions and encouragement for improving their grade and learning. Like a journey, we need to give frequent enough feedback for students to know how close to their destination they've come. Barry Westling

Dennis, I think comments that convey the instructor was once a student and may have experienced similar personal challenges is helpful to bringing a closer student connection. For some reason, students seem to enjoy stories. Integrating stories into the lesson can be accomplished with case studies, discussing past good and bad work situations, or stories that illustrate a point in the lesson. In all settings, we have to be genuine versions of ourselves or else students may perceive our instruction is a performance, which may diminish trust and respect by students. Barry Westling

William, Tracking changes and or improvements (both those needed and those that occurred) are great notations for a teaching journal. My observations, thoughts, and personal comments are helpful to me as I reflect on the journal contents, weeks, months, and most reflective, years later. Barry Westling

Dennis, I agree. I think facilitating an activity is much more beneficial than being the talking-head provider of the information. Of course, I can always add my contributions to the discussion, or fill in missing information, but any time a student is involved in an independent, thought inducing activity will likely result in better retention of information and ultimately, increased learning. Barry Westling

Diane, Terrific! Creating an environment for just about any topic that's pertinent, informative and interesting is quite a talent. It adds flavor to the meal. It helps students retain information better. And students relate to, and like stories. They connect prior learning with new information through the connection link of stories, case studies, and past (good and bad) work situations. Barry Westling

Tim, There are many ways to evaluate students, and if there is a lot of technical stuff to master, then personal observation is perfectly suitable. The main thing is that whatever system is used, it accurately and fairly measures learning. To have a great evaluation system that misses the boat does no one any good. Barry Westling

Diane, I think instructrs who put their students first and work to assure successful student learning outcomes... are super-stars! Just being willing to adjust or modify preplanned time frames or lesson material to work individually with students often achieves tremendous results. It's surprising how little it takes but how few instructors will work individually with students. Barry Westling