Barry Westling

Qadar, Even with the best grading systems, adult students will find some issue with the way they received a grade. Having it laid out in advance will help. And if it's institutional policy, that will help as well. Even so, trying to be fair and objective is sometimes a challenge. Being flexible, sticking to the policy, and conveying sincerity with honest concern for the students success also helps. Barry Westling

George, I agree - teaching adults in career school environments requires traits and strategies different from that of K-12 level instruction. They want to see value; value in money they're paying; value in effort expected; and as you say, value in being assured we are there to help them learn material that will adequately prepare them for their career choice. So personalized instruction alongf with individual attention is needed and helpful to achieving the results everyone wants to see. Barry Westling

Timothy, You're right, there is only so much discussion or stories about the real workforce that can occur in a classroom seetting. A good field trip can really open the eyes of some students who have only a vague idea of what the career area consists of. Barry Westling

Edward, Personalization really takes effort but at it's core is what can make a class interesting, enjoyable, and meaningful. Barry Westling

Edward, If we could just sit and chat with a student and determine, "yeah, they got it it", or "wow, they really missed the point here", that'd be just as satisfactory as some formalized examination. Unfortunately due to time limitations, questions of objectivity and fairness, and our educational system's legal formalities, assessing learning by questioning seems not to be favored much these days. But it could. Much of clinical instruction in medicine still occurs this way. So I'd say, if it works for physicians, it out to work in other areas (end of Barry's rant!). Barry Westling

Edward, I and the majority of teachers would likely agree with you, as would the institutions that employ them. I just choose not to go down that dark, murky road (been there, done that, don't like it). Barry Westling

Edward, This sounds great. One big outcome of pretesting is getting to know what your students know and also getting to know them as individuals. Barry Westling

Edward, Short breaks may be all that's necessary. Other times, change-ups to another activity are needed to break the funk. There are many change-up activities that can still achieve the daily goals. Barry Westling

Edward, Early on, I found timing my presentation to the alotted time resulted in rushed "talking" (not teaching) at the end of class to get through all I had planned. I learned to seamless flow through my lessons allowing enough time for questions, discussions, etc. Then, if theres time, I can do other important but non-essential topics as time allows. Barry Westling

Edward, Being sensitive to individual student needs is great. Some teachers feel reluctant (insenitive) to alter their game plan. That's unfortunate. Although some things have to be done a certain way or certain time, really, there is always room for some variety and flexibility if desired by the teacher. Barry Westling