Barry Westling

Corey, The more senses used will yield better retention and performance. Let's take notetaking: 1. Write them 2. Rewrite them 3. Read notes aloud (into tape recorder) 4. Listen to taped notes as notes are reviewed. 5. Teach info from notes to another. Here, virtually all senses can be involved. Doing the same for other media or learning resources will have similar results. Barry Westling

Kelly, You've stated well the commission we all have in career readiness for our students. Barry Westling

Roderick, Experienced teachers can offer great insights so you don't have to make similar mistakes. Sticking to the course objectives can help. Also, choosing media that invokes activity helps. And sharing stories from the workforce that illustrate your point can be very meaningful. Barry Westling

Roderick, Good plan. Keeping student attention when they're tired, bored, distinterested, unprepared, don't understand, or distracted can be a challenge. Variety in mixing up activities helps a lot. Also, physical movement, as in lab, demonstration, working on a project, these kind of things help keep the mind focused and maintain student attention. Q and A and sharing stories about past work situations is also a great way to keep attention. Barry Westling

Roderick, Yeas - I use a method called "checking for understanding". As I proceed through the lesson, periodically I'll stop, and call on random students to answer one or more questions. I have a deck of cards with each students name, and draw names at random. Besides the process, what I find is I never get too deep into the lesson before I make sure everyone is on the same page, so to speak. If not, more explanation needed. Barry Westling

Chandra, I think one of the best traits a teacher can have is natural enthusiasm. It conveys such a positive tone and learniong environment. Those that have a natural enthusiasm are fortunate because their students will be the consistent recipient of upbeat and interesting classes. Barry Westling

Dwayne, I think, too, that the more value a teacher puts on it, the more they will get from it, both in the short term and long term. Barry Westling

Kelly, Great. I really don't think anyone expects everyone to be exemplary in every component of teaching. I think a lot of what we do is a "work in progress", and as long as we stay open and willing to improve we should achieve continued student successes and our weaker areas will become less significant or apparent. Barry Westling

Kevin, Any sort of evaluation definitely requires objectivity. Getting students to repeat recall-level questions is one thing. But, as you suggest, getting students to formulate rational conclusion (critical thinking) is somethong different. This takes an environment that encourages exploration, little penalty for guessing, application, and a of course, a solid theorectical foundation. Lot's of activities that can be introduced to the class to get to these desired results. Barry Westling

Teresa, Yes, friendly advice, encouragement, and caring comments that suggest the teacher is concerned for student success elevate the relationship between teacher and student, and perhaps motivates students to try harder too. Barry Westling