Barry Westling

Mike, Creative teachers do creative things, even when given resources are fixed. Students appreciate informative, interesting, and classes that are fun and enjoyable. Barry Westling

Tara, It's good to have standardized methods, but the interpretation of, and level of consistent application of the standards will always be a variable among teachers. Meeting with each other to define guidelines acceptable to both is a terrific idea. Barry Westling

Mike, It's said the definition of experience is someone with a history of mistakes behind them. I think creative teachers are always on the the lookout for something new and interesting, which usually involves a bit of trial and error. This is what contributes to growth and improvement. Sometimes we have to make mistakes in order to find what is appropriate. To always stay with what is safe may become staid and stale. Noone wants to make mistakes, yet in making them, they can be a learning expeience in themselves. Barry Westling

Tara, Great! Building on what we already know about ourselves should encourage more creative ways to express that natural trait, and perhaps, explore aspects of other personality types that are similar or that the teacher finds interesting. One way to do that is by sitting in colleagues' classrooms and making observations. In the many years of teaching, I've found this is still an interesting and beneficial exercise for me to do, and I always learn something - about myself and about the other teacher's ways. Barry Westling

Mike, This a great aspiration for your students. It may not be totally realistic, as what most teachers acquire through education, training, and work experience (and sometimes life experiences) cannot possibly be tranfered via a class or series of classes, or even a whole program. That said, I think it's realistic to teach students to be able to critically think through situations they can apply in school or at work that over time create excellent workers who perhaps, could acquire the skills to teach the subject. Barry Westling

Dana, Yes, students pay a lot of money to attend and expect the teacher to have that competent expertise and knowledge to guide students to their chosen career. Barry Westling

Tara, Calling students by their name is an especially good idea when a new class begins. It personalizes and directs attention to specific individuals. After a time (when all know each other names) a teacher can reference other students to make a point; such as: "this is like Jack said, and Sally added to, but notice it differed from Susie, Bill, and Bob's answer?" Barry Westling

Paul, These are good reasons. I think students desire to hear what their instructor has to say about their performance since we are the ones giving the assignments and issuing the grades. Also, this gives us an oppotunity to offer encouagement, show support, give advice, and listen to what students have to say. This helps build stronger student/teacher relationships as well. Barry Westling

Karen, Electronic grading provides an effective way to share information quickly and be current. I think discussing status in addition to the formal meetings is inportant, because when student see their teacher taking a personal interest in their learning, they will be more attentive, focused, respectful, and appreciative of the effort their teacher puts into the class. Barry Westling

Karen, All good instructors recognize that even with good planning, things can occur that interrupt the plan. A good back-up plan is something meaningful, can be implemmented on short notice, related to the current topic, and requires little resources. Good plan is one, when implemented, is not recognized by the students as a back-up plan, but as what the teacher had planned all along. Barry Westling