Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Hi Rosalie: This is all good and true. But what is student centered learning? One thing we might say about this question is that it involves always keeping the student's best interests in mind when preparing lesson plans, performing evaluations, and interacting with them in the learning environment. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Melissa: Using a disorganized approach will undoubtedly result in a disorganized outcome. If the class is all about discussion and opinion, this may be fine. But if the student is expected to demonstrate and measure what they have learned, this approach just wont work. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Developing instructional backup plans

Hi Rosalie: Another idea about back-up activities is they can be used no matter what as a way of breaking up the flow and energy. This may work very well if a lecture is becoming monotonous. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Reasons for evaluating students

Hi Melissa: In support of your statements, one of the valuable things about performing assessments on a regular basis is that it allows the student a chance to make changes in study habits as early as possible which may help facilitate a more successful outcome in the end of the course. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Jill: It may send the wrong kind of message to the student if we come across disorganized. What kind of long-term impact might it cause if our behavior suggests to the student "I don't care enough about your learning to be organized"? Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Goal of educating students

Hi Jill: One thing to consider about this very broad topic is that if a student can articulate about the subject matter in a stronger way as compared to when they began the course, this may indicate we have met our primary objective. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Hi Maria: In addition, another thing pretests may show you is what kind of learner the student is, thereby making lesson planning more effective. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Mistakes made when selecting course content

Hi Caron: In addition, continually relating how one "chunk" relates to others can help the solidification process of understanding you are describing. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Goal of educating students

Hi Charlasetta: You are so correct about the difficulty of keeping a group of students continually engaged. One thing that helps is using a variety of teaching methods to address every type of learning style. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Understanding yourself as an instructor

Hi Jennifer: Being aware of mannerisms and the like is very important. These kinds of body language can possibly send messages we don't mean to send to the students, even up to the point of influencing how they learn. Regards, Barry