Barry Westling

Mary, Time is so valuable, I am surprised anyone would want to squander it away. Being organized is a mindset, and requires a bit of patience and accountability to get everything needed in order prior to class so that class can run smoothly. Barry Westling

Kelsey, True, students may lose respect, even if they don't say anything. But there's also self respect and integrity about our work. We are paid to be prepared and ready, and it's really unfair to students who arrive to find something less. Barry Westling

Kelsey, I really love the field trip experience. As you say, it gets students out, but it can be tremendously motivational as well. And motivated students will do better in class as the result. Barry Westling

Kelsey, It's really simple: when students feel their teachers care, they're going to try harder to do better. I think that is true in any setting, but especially career colleges (they often need more encouargaement due to poor past life expierences). Barry Westling

Mary, Great! Individualizing students needs is what student centered teaching is all about. We have to be willing to set aside our planned activities in order to meet our students needs. Barry Westling

Patricia, Yes, the environment says a lot about our degree of preparation, care, and self-respect for ourselves and our students. It's a commom complaint, but good teachers take it in stride - we will always have to spend more time preparing than we are paid for. But that's just it, we are paid for it. We are paid to be prepared and ready to go, and as you say, students will notice, and appreciate that effort. Barry Westling

Lynne, Evaluation is a tricky thing, as, we really want to measure learning that occured. Finding the right balance of weight for the different components should fairly represent the more imporatnt aspects of a class grade. For insstance, too much weight on a less important component may not accurately measure learning. Although a good grade might occur, it may not really relfect how the student benefited from the course. Barry Westling

Mary, It's true, even though we are evaluating students, sometimes the scores can be a reflection or indication of the teachers ability to convey needed information. But mainly, we need to determine to what degree did learning occur. Barry Westling

Mary, Good answer. I think a great way to avoid this is to make sure the teacher stays close to the course objectives and meets the student learning objectives for the course. In doing so, there will hardly ever be a question of not providing enough information. Barry Westling

Mary, Often, what a student does while not at the computer gives valuable experiences. Depending on the topic, the student can engage a mutitude of activities they experience, and write about them when online. Barry Westling