Barry Westling

Hi Tracy: Good thoughts. I think as teachers, selecting sufficient content and "appropriate" content have different goals and purposes. Suffient may be just enough to get by, or may be so broad that it fails to target one group, or may be purposly designed to provide minimal instruction to gain the greatest return on enrollment. Contrasting suffient is appropriate, which takes into account the needed student learning objectives, course outline, course objectives, and necessary resources and mnedia delivery requirements. So, two courses, side by side, one wholly meets the needs of the students while the other missed the target nearly… >>>

Hi Melanie: I think the quicker we can report grade information, the appreciative the students will be. Many istitutions are now using electronic grading or electronic courses, even for on-ground delived courses. In these settings, all grading is vitually instantly reported and is available at any time the student wishes to view it. One important principle that can get lost in all the technology is that human touch. Even though the student may have access to grades, that sould not be a substitute for personal, one on one connecting. Informing student how they can achieve better grades or perform better… >>>

Hi Patricia: The more consistency that exists in a course, the likely assessments and evaluation can occur with a greater likeleness that essential material will taught, at the right level, using the most appropriate resources, leading the most effective student outcomes. In your example, your course material may have been very organized and planned out well, but if the substitute teacher taught something different, than the quality and accuracy of the lesson can be called into question, with the poor performance on the following days quiz as proof that there was some disconnect. Evaluation should be an accurate reflection of… >>>