Barry Westling

Jana, It's a fairly wide known fact that individuals are more willing to participate, commit to, and believe in something they have a direct part in. Group discussions that incourage class-wide discussion are a version of this. Also, by participation, recall and memory (long-term type) is more likely when students are actively engaged. Barry Westling

Ruth, These are great! I like that you've adapted feedback forms, as video's unless directly related to your topic are static and really don't stimulate active thought. To contrast, if the teeacher demonstated something, then had the students practice, that skill would be memorialized and practical much more than sitting and watching a video. That said, videos's are an effective means to convey information (sometimes the only way). Barry Westling

Jana, What a wonderful tribute! It's all those "between the cracks" kind of information that contribute to a well rounded professional, and this definitely is part of a mission all teachers can aspire too. I think its possible if we just opt to care for the successfulness of our students. In doing so, these extra benefits will just natually flow. Barry Westling

Linda, Humility is an interesting attribute. One might think of it as a weakness, but to students and others, humility expressed in the classroom is among the higher rated marks that students give their teachers (when it's present). Rather than a weakness, it shows strength in being willing to recognize mistakes are made, and taking responsibility for them too. It personalizes and keeps our ego's in check. People (students) will always respond to that characteristic with respect and trust. Barry Westling

Jana, Good self analysis. Good teachers have to be aware of their weaker areas, and be willing to work torwards improvement, even if that takes a number of years - or a career (it's the journey, not the destination). Stretching towards improvement takes courage and humility. But given the opportunity, a better individual, and more effective teacher will emerge. Barry Westling

Roxsie, Evaluation is the assessment of learning. There are probably hundreds of ways that could be performed. What's important is to select the metrhods that best evaluate learning of these students, in this class, at this particular time. Grades and points are meaningless if they don't measure learning. Barry Westling

Cassie, Yes! Students can be motivated to continue their good work or strive to improve to bring their grdaes up if their teacher is diligent to regularly and frequently take the time to keep students informed about their status in class. Good discussions also allow the teacher to offer advice, suggestions, and encouragement, which conveys to the student "my teacher cares about my successfulness". Barry Westling

Kathy, Right. EC distorts the grade and doesn't really help assess the students. To me, it seems EC is about grades and points, while as teachers, we should be concerned about student learning, which, in my experience, EC ddoes not really contribute to very much. Barry Westling

Kathy, Games are great and students like them. A test to determine if a back-up plan is good is to assess "could it be easily substituted for the main topic and the students would not know the difference?". If so, then plan-A, plan-B, or plan-C are all acceptable as alternative ways to deliver the lesson material. A good back-up plan is interesting, easily accessible, can be implemmented on short notice, and low tech. These criteria will assure the students will not have their time wasted if a back-up plan has to be instituted. Barry Westling

Kathy, The media we choose can make the difference between mediocre and outstanding, and when its a students education thats involved I don't think we should take the chance or settle for the lesser. These days there is so much media available, it's not just selecting media but choosing the best media, for these students, this time, in this class. It may vary the next go around. Variety is great. And we want to be sure what we choose results in giving the students the best material in order to learn. Barry Westling