Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Hi Catherine: Absolutely - by allowing students the opportunity to see where they are at on a continuous basis will help them make changes in their study habits to get better results. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Setting up a grading system

Hi Catherine: Rubrics are definitely a strong idea to remove all miscommunication from the student expectation on grades. Also, they allow the instructor a reference to point to if the student has any issues with the grade. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Awarding extra credit

Hi Catherine: It's a very good idea to let the students know as soon as possible what the expectations are and not change things around in the middle of a learning session. Changing things around may be okay if that's you're intention, but if you do it all the time, might lead to distracting the student. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Organized and prepared to teach

Hi Shannon: Most are in agreement that disorganization in the classroom suggests the instructor may not know the information very well, or can lead to the loss of credibility with the students. One idea is to have back-up plans ready to go for the students to work on to help get things back under control. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Goal of educating students

Hi Shannon: The future success of that student is a great way to look at this idea of the goal of educating students. An additional consideration may be to relate the learning to the big picture for that student. What will they do with this content? Can it be related to their life in some way? Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Using pretests as planning tools

Hi Shannon: In addition to giving you an idea of the student's academic status, it can also show you what kind of learner the student is. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Informing students of status in course

Hi Shannon: That's a great idea to allow students more time to see their progress. Some institutions are heading to a method of electronic grades, allowing the student the ability to check their grades using the internet. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Understanding yourself as an instructor

Hi Shannon: This is very true. One way to facilitate getting to know yourself may be incorporating the teaching journal method discussed in another module. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Setting up a grading system

Hi Terry: If you don't already use one, grading rubrics are a great method of removing all dowubt about what's expected of a student's efforts on a particular assignment. Regards, Barry

Barry Westling

Discussion Comment

Awarding extra credit

Hi Margaret: Another consideration is providing extra credit to students who have earned it, not as a method for students to pass the course without really trying. One participant mentioned they only use it for students who have attended the lecture. Regards, Barry