Barry Westling

Hi Andrea: You mentioned feedback. What a terrific collection of methods to assess how a teacher is performing or the degree of their effectiveness. For me, I feel we are always growing, changing, hopefully improving in our work. I think understanding when I can go and when I need to hold back provides a basic guide for self direction and self awareness in the classroom. I want to be current, try new methods/activities, make a mistakes (but learn from them), and not be inhibited from fully expressing myself. That's like streching a muscle. Development requires effort (energy or work) to… >>>

Hi Kathleen: I think good instructors are facilitators of learning, not the provider of it. Getting students involved and engaged in their own learning will most meaningful and memorable. Our job is to assist them achieve their learning goals. Lots of different ways to approach this. Simple reengagement may be to simply ask questions and involve the class in discussing the answers. Sometime a strtch, a break, or a change from one media to another will do the trick. Students have to stay focused and pay attention. So, keeping things interesting by using a lot of variety in the media,… >>>