Barry Westling

Kyle, I try to introduce critical thinking, and strive to make that a goal. This, along with the skills, knowledge, and attitude specific to the profession aims to prepare graduates for both work and personal life situations. Barry Westling

Chakita, You're right, a good sense of accomplishment can be very motivating and foster positive feelings towards the course, the instructor, and the institution. Barry Westling

Chakita, I don't always do pretesting. I reserve it for the times I no knowledge about past learning or abilities. The pretest helps me plan in these instances. Barry Westling

Leslie, Keeping the class interesting is something most instructors can do, such as some of the startegies you list. I think if students feel there's something beneficial to them, they will respond with their attention and focus. Barry Westling

Chakita, For me, imparting the skills, kowldge, and attitudes appropriate to the profession, along with critical thinking skills seems to prepare gradutes for both successful work careers and personal life situations. Barry Westling

Chakita, Right. We can inspire students by our professional display of prepardeness. Barry Westling

Renee, Each instructor has to choose what works best for them. I choose not to give extra credit, as I feel it has little contribution to learning in the classes I teach. Perhaps in other classes, it has a place. For me, not. Barry Westling

Katherine, Sometimes it's difficult to convey areas that need improvement from the assignment of grades. Students sometimes take the comments as critizism, more than the intended area of needed improvement. This is where trhe 1 on 1 chat or discussion can help minimize misconceptions about witten comments regarding needed improvement. A kind word, support, or encouragement can go a long ways towards building trust (and respect). Barry Westling

Theresa, Great. Pretests don't have to lengthly or comprehensive....just sort a toe in the water to get a sense where the students are performining, on this day, in this class, at this monent. Barry Westling

Kyle, The format is as varied as there are instructors. Electronic documentation makes retrival easy to access and manage (i.e., transfer to other places). A notebook is good, but I find this method most useful for long term notations, more than quick reminders about what to do differently next time. The best result is over time, to measure and observe growth, improvement, and maturity as an instructor. Barry Westling