Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Scott, Good. For me, the personal discussion of class performance, presented in a professional but sincere and caring manner yields the best results. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Informing students of status in course

Carole, Good ideas here. My classes have due dates for a term paper 18 weeks in advance, with all the required formatting and expectations detailed in the syllabus. I ask for progress along the way to assure a student is not procrastination. I agree, more time is better. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Awarding extra credit

Terry, There is nothing old school about avoiding extra credit (EC). I would call it "Reality School". As you say, there is no EC in the workplace, so why set students up with false expectations? Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

James, Good! The post test is just as beneficial as the pretest. It shows growth, improvement, and of course, the dgree of learning that has (or has not) occured in a class. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Awarding extra credit

Kiona, I too want to motivate. My encouragement, recognition of good work, and alloiwing students to be involved in the instructional process all are components of motivating students without the distortion of the grading system. But I understand opinions differ, and that's cool, too. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Scott, When students pretest, they are getting a "preview of coming attractions". This may stimulate interest or turn students off. Either way, it conveys upcoming expectations, and I believe students always do better when expectations are known in advance. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Qadar, Great! And this describes the benefit of doing pretesting, among other reasons. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Mistakes made when selecting course content

Michelle, I agree. The temptation to spend more time on our "favorite subjects" more than what students need is probably a common occurence. I find I try to make all topics as interesting as possible, regardless if they're my favorites or not. Smoothly flowing seamlessly from topic to topic is what I hope my students experience. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Developing instructional backup plans

Jeffrey, Keeping the back-up tied to the course objectives is key. If a game does that, terrific. I try to avoid back-up activities that students might consider to be time fillers. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using senses in learning

Carole, Color is sort of like a seasoning to a meal. It just adds enough to make a bit more flavor to the lesson. Barry Westling