Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Hi Don: Indeed - think of the potential negative impact it can have when the instructor is consistently disorganized. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Informing students of status in course

Hi Don: In fact, a lot of institutions are moving towards electronic gradebooks that allow the student to access their grades anytime they want to support this very idea you suggest. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Role of instructor personality in delivery selection

Hi Heidi: I think that's an excellent approach. One thing that may be effective in involving ALL students is to prepare their names individually on note cards, then randomly select a name to answer a question. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Reengaging off-task students

Hi Don: I think most would agree that a wayward student would be more likely to respond to encouragement from their peers than perhaps from an instructor. But how do we ask the other students to do this? Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Understanding yourself as an instructor

Hi Heidi: That's very true. It's a good idea to be transparent in this way. Many times, I've related questions that I couldn't answer to something similar that I could, along with a promise to get back to the main question after I looked it up. Sometimes, I have the student look it up. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Selecting instructional media

Hi Melissa: No matter waht media is used, we should be using it effectively. Many pedagogy enthusiasts agree that no matter what, use a variety of styles. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Hi Thomas: Indeed, pretests are a great tool that can help us gauge how much time to spend on a particular area, as well as help us create more effective lesson plans. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Warren: I like to think of students as both our customers, as well as our product to the world. Especialy in career oriented courses. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Making field trips and guest speakers a part of instruction

Hi Daniel: And, the student may get the chance to ask questions of these people that are working in their chosen field. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Being a student-centered instructor

Hi David: Another fun consideration about this topic is this question - how do we ideally deal with the difficult student while maintaining an attitude of being a student centered instructor? Regards, Barry