Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Mistakes made when selecting course content

Hi Nancy: One thing that might help reaveal the level of understanding your student will have is to use pretesting before the class begins, or on the first day of class. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Selecting sufficient course content

Hi Nancy: Absolutely right! In addition, the student who learns in multiple ways (usually the majority of the class) will have a stronger chance of retaining the information because they learned about it in many different ways. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Developing instructional backup plans

Hi Nancy: Another thing back-up plans are great for are to use ANYWAY, regardless of need. In other words, use these items as a way to break up the energy in the classroom. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Michelle: Look at it another way - what kind of message does it send to the student when the instructor is disorganized? Might it inadvertently send the message "I don't care about your learning"? Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Goal of educating students

Hi Michelle: To paraphrase what you wrote, as instructors, we are striving to help our students make better decisions in school and in their life. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Lawrence: You make some strong points here. One way we might facilitate a higher chance of success with ALL students is to offer regular evaluation with feedback. And, during those feedback sessions, the student gets the chance to see what kind of changes they may need to make in study habits for a more successful outcome at the end of the course. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Understanding yourself as an instructor

Hi Becky: One way an instructor can learn about themselves is to keep a journal about what worked in a session and what didn't. Then, the instructor can review this information when preparing for the next go through with the intention of making improvements to those items that didn't work. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Kaytha: By being disorganized, the instructor might send the wrong kind of message to the student, something like "I don't care about your learning". Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Wendy: Another consideration is this: what kind of message do we send our students when we are disorganized? It may unintentionally send them the message "I don't care enough about your learning to be organized". Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Goal of educating students

Hi Gretchen: Another thing we might say is to help our students make better, more effective decisions in school and in life. Regards, Barry