Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Diane, I believe students do pick up cues from their instructor. So the impression we make should be only that of exemplary readiness, as you say, just as we expect from them. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Scott, Great! Sharing what we know has come from work and life experiences, education and training, certifications and credentials, and the portal to successfulness for graduates entering their new career. With tremendous resources like that, to come to class unprepared is more than unfortunate. Preparedness is like a covenant we have with our students to get them ready, thinking, and skilled for the work setting. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Making field trips and guest speakers a part of instruction

Kenneth, Internalized visions of hope and the prospect for a better future can be one outcome of a good field trip. Rarely do I see poor or negative responses following a field trip activity. Rather, students can be motivated and perhaps stimulated to perform better in the classroom as the result. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Being a student-centered instructor

Kenneth, Nice sentiment. True, we want to be focused on our student's successes, yet we are also often confined to specific curriculum. These two mission are not in conflict, rather through a collaboarative learning envirnoment teachers can get their students involved according to their abilities and the teacher can achieve their student outcomes. I'm not saying that's easy, just that it's possible. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Mistakes made when selecting course content

Shining, When I think of mistakes, there are "positive and negative" versions of this definition. In the positive sense, trying new things or finding too little (or too much) time allocated for a segment of instruction could be cited as a mistake that a teacher learns from. On the negative side, making an intentional poor judgement or demonstrating unprofessional behavior would be examples of preventable mistakes, and should be avoided. I think a good rule of thumb is sticking close to the course objectives and planning the daily lessons (along with needed resources) carefully in order to assure the students… >>>

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Selecting instructional media

Shining, Good varaitaion. I think we always have to be sensititive to "what is the best way to teach this subject to these students at this time". It will vary each time, and using a variety of media will encourage participation and retention of needed information by the students. PPT is a great tool, but is limited unless the instructor uses this tool to supplement their lectures and accompany other instructional media. Too many times reading PPT slides with too much information is considered the lecture, and this is probably the least effective methods for learning. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Understanding yourself as an instructor

Shining, Well, we all want to avoid making mistakes while teaching. Personalities do differ and I really don't believe there's a one size fits all. However, if the teacher presents as a caring, approachable, sincere, and competent individual, those traits will at least tend to overcome student perceptions that may be less than wonderful. Genuine and relatable can go far if the sudents believe the teacher has their interests at heart. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Paul, Cool! I to will sometimes show students their pretest at the end of of a course, especially when I feel they need an emotional "push" to reinforce their hard work has paid off. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Anissa, Knowing where students are beginning at helps determine our plan for getting where they need to be when the course is completed. For me, these arn't exhaustive or even comprehensive. Just sort of a toe in the water to assess whether basic essntials are there, and to what degree. Barry Westling

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Role of instructor personality in delivery selection

Anissa, Students respect competent, confident, interesting and relatable teachers. We all have our particular personality traits, and I don't think it's wise to try to be like another. Being approachable, honest and sincere will overcome any personality quirks a teacher may knowingly or unknowingly demonstrate. Barry Westling