Barry Westling

Sonya, Great. Making the lesson interesting and applicable to their training helps keep interest, and also provides for improved trust and respect to the teacher, as students will feel their instructor is trying to make the course material useful. Barry Westling

Sonya, It's true, there are many tech savvy students, but not all are. One ongoing challenge is to find balance in the class so that we as instructors reach all our students with material that is useful, needed, interesting, current, and applicable to the trade they're preparing for. Naturally, if technology is a weaker area, the responsible instructor needs to take the time to bring themselves up to speed. Barry Westling

Marisa, When we can be ourselves, students are more likely to be relaxed and less stressed. That contributes to potentially better attention and focus by students in class. A dash of humor, if it's natural and authentic can part of that environment. Barry Westling

Marisa, A good point. We have to be careful that we are not doing what we think is best without consideration of whether it will benefit the students. Pretesting can zero in on weaker areas, and also, stronger areas that may not need as much emphasis. Barry Westling

Marisa, Right. We have a duty to not only instruct, but also to check for understanding, and inform students where they are in their journey towards mastery. I say, early on and frequently as possibible to achieve the best results. Barry Westling

Marisa, What a great field trip. This ties into personal ethics, integrity, judgement, and behavior, as you say, chopices made that can potentially interfere with holding and/or keeping a job. I'm sure this creates a lasting memory. Barry Westling

W, Yes, responses, (good and bad), observations, planning strategies for the next class - these are some of the nice things a teaching kournal provides for. The biggest benefit is later on, when reading and reflecting on the notations produces changes or adjustments to the class that ends up with improved student outcomes. Barry Westling

Jay, Terrific for your three students. Although I don't think applications is the primary purpose of field trips, it obviously happens from time to time. But seeing clearly and directly waht job duties one will perform as a graduate is invaluable. I've observed so many students who really don't know the foundational parts of the job they're training for, so this the field trip can help clarify and illuminate what it is that the graduate will do when they graduate. Barry Westling

Cynthia, Looking back always is useful for planning forward. In a nutshell, I think that is the main benefit to using a teaching journal. Barry Westling

Terry, This is a terrific idea. One cool part of it is the use of peer tutorial. It's interesting that stronger students can convey material to their classmates in way they understand (I call it "student-speak"). Use in a discussion group to assist others who are weaker or having difficulty understanding can be a boost for all: the student recipients, the student mentor, and the instructor. Barry Westling