Barry Westling

Matthew, Understanding, yes. Of course that has to include knowledge, skills, attitudess, and professionalism that will carry them to success in their new professions. Barry Westling

Velma, Right - adapting to student needs rather than rigidly following a strict curriculum. Barry Westling

Velma, Great comments.henever the teacher begins to think from the perspective of the stiudent they are likely going to make minor adjustments to what was planned in order to assist their students. The willingness to do this really captures the essence of student centered teaching. Barry Westling

Thomas, These sound like great instructional strategies. Off task can certainly apply the student comprehension of required coursework. Another type of off task is the distracted student (seemingly, distracted as they appear to not be paying attention). In this sense, ways to reengage may involve simple things like calling on students, asking to rephrase something, or even simpler, just standing next to a disengaged student, or taking a break. More stronger methods are sometimes needed, and these may include changing activities, such as moving to a lab mode. Barry Westling

Patricia, This sounds great! It's directly related to the topic, keeps students busy and focused, and allows you to quiz or test on the material, or have the students present the results of their research if you so desire. Barry Westling

Michael, Right! Everyone has to be on the same page to get to the same place. When we share status, we can also offer personalized support and encouragement which conveys we care about the students success. Barry Westling

Patricia, Yep! Variety does keep classes more interesting. Sometimes even routine activities can involves multiple sense, For instance, taking notes. First the student listens, then writes imortant keynotes, then rewrites notes, then reads the notes into a recorder, than plays the tape back as they review the notes, then types a summary, then questions other students, then teaches other students. Writing all this makes it seem like a long and impractical experience, but I have seen extrodianary success with this method. Repitition is the key to retention. Barry Westling

Mary, I've found keeping track of information that tends to vary class to class is most helpful to me. For instance, terms, formulas, facts, comments are the most frequent. I also track observations about students, questions, changes needed or wanted, and any issues that arose during class. Less frequently, I'll enter information that's intangible, such as desired equipment, ways of adding to or modifying the curriculum, or observations about student behavior or why things are done how they're done. Barry Westling

Nancy, However the grading system is constructed, I think we want to make sure we are accurate in measuring student learning. Some sophisticated systems may look good on paper but actually miss the "measure of learning", and that's what really matters, more than grades. So having a system that puts the most emphasis on the most important components or learning segment should be a priority. Barry Westling

Mary, Yes, evaluation is analysis of performance. Good evaluations will lay out a plan for where to go next, based on where we have been. Barry Westling