Barry Westling

Charles, The thing with EC often comes down to fairness, consistent grading, and substitution for required information by optional assignments. For me, I just choose not to go there in the first place. Basically, testing should be about assessment of learning with less emphasis on points and grades. I understand opinions and policies vary. This is my bias. Barry Westling

Charles, Great! I think largely pretesting helps teachers plan for the reasons you state. We may have a fabulous curriculum, but we need an attentive, prepared cadre of students to receive it. So, finding where students are in their learning by pretesting is a great method to learn where our emphasis is needed. Barry Westling

Jody, Field trips are awesome and can motivate as well as educate. There is some planning and a bit of preparation but I've rarely had any complaints, and most students really enjoy these outings. Barry Westling

Cassie, These are good, convenient, and common in classroom settings. If we think from a students standpoint, selecting media that's interesting, varied, stimulating, and contributes to learning in a fun and enjoyable manner would be appreciated. That can be done to a degree with PPT slides and whiteboard, but some variety will keep students attention and focus. Barry Westling

Juan, You have a real interest in being a good teacher. Be open to continued learning. Look for ways to improve. Be will willing and open to change. In doing so, students will go on to remember you as one their favorites. Good luck! Barry Westling

Dwayne, Keep students attention by using a variety of media and resources. I might say go no more than 15-20 minutes without changing how you deliver the lesson. Less breaks, that would allow abot 20 different or alternating activities in a 4-hour period. Most students would keep focused if clkass was structured this way. Another method is to use small group discussion, or lab sessions, as these avoid passive sitting and listening, but require active thought and movement, which is bound to keep students focused. Barry Westling

Juan, Yeah, I once walked into class and the first thing I said is "I have $50...(pause)...Everyone had stopped chatting and they were all ears, waiting for the next words I had to say. I had captured their interest. From that, I learned to begin new topics with something like "Did you ever wonder why...blah, blah, blah?" Beginning with an interesting question captures attention. And really, the whole lesson can be formed in this way, if applicable. It's all about "what's in it for me?". Barry Westling

Juan, A mistake some teachers make (I made it early on too) is trying to teach material that I am not completely and thoroughly familar with. Boy, it can show and students are quick to pick up on it. Early on, I made a promise to myself if I was unsurte, I would state that, and add "I'll get the right information". Then, I commit to following through. Nothing worng with saying "I goofed up". Students will excuse humility, but not tolerate excuses or trying to mask misinformation. Barry Westling

Jody, Meeting course objectives, with the pertinent skills, knowledge, and professional "affective" traits (punctuality, attendance, dress, appearance, language, etc.) achieved would be a terrific goal. Many students struggle with some material to some degree. I use "checking for understanding" frequently, which consists of stopping every few minutes and randomly asking students questions (I use a deck of cards with names taped to it for randomness). If they got it, great. If not, that cues me to review more before I move on. Barry Westling