Barry Westling

Robert, Right! Passion and enthusiasm are a hard act to follow, and most students prefer that environment over less dymamic settings. If instructors really want to, these are easy traits to adopt and produce better customer service to our students. Barry Westling

Melissa, I think this is a very creative way to use the magic powers of a guest speaker introduced in an online format. Kudo's! Barry Westling

Robert, "Knowledge without application produces little proficiency" - B.Westling. Barry Westling

Robert, Great! Instructors often assume certain prior knowledge is present with all of the continuing students, which isn't necessarily the case. Pretests help instructors plan and tailor coursework to meet the course objectives and individual student needs. Barry Westling

Chad, In a way, it's a simple purpose, but a difficult goal to attain perfectly. The simple purpose is to come up with components that, in the end, measure learning. How each institution and instructor does that is the chore, and the better systems accurately measure learning. Socrates just asked questions, then evaluated the reponses. Fancy, complex, or simple, in the end we want to measure learning. Barry Westling

Terry, It's true that we have uniquenesses and I think that's part of what makes classes interesting. Of course, there are areas we all can continually work to improve on, and we recognize too that we tend to teach to our strentgths. Understanding some weaker areas can be complimented by students leading the discussion, small groups, projects, share-pair, and even conducting instructional segments. Some weaker traits are more personality-based than skill based. I think having a willingness to make improvements, once identified, is the biggest key to change for the better. Barry Westling

Chad, Good. Experienced instructors usually find a relative safe point of balance for grading that works for both instructor and institution and is fair for students. Barry Westling

Tracy, Many teachers and institutions believe as you do. For me, I choose not to give it for a lot of reasons, but mainly, it has to do with fairness to all students. Barry Westling

Paul, Great. That length is not so long so as to lose attention. And if they're course specific, that should help to create interest in the reminder of the class session. Barry Westling

Terry, Preparation is so important. Students view it as an aspect of professionalism. And if an instructor appears unprepared, some students will feel slighted and may lose some creditibity or respect for their instructor, especially if it happens more than just very infrequently. This is our job and it's what we're paid to do. Barry Westling