James Jackson

Location: chicago, il

About me

James is the Senior Associate at JAJ & Associates, Adjunct Faculty and eLearning Consultant at MaxKnowledge and member of the Board of Advisors of Dream Catchers Global. James was the Associate Provost of Faculty Development, President of the Online Division at Harrison College and the Director for the Center of Technology Resources for Indiana Business College. Because of his extensive background in technology and his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for assisting aspiring business owners, James has provided his leadership/project management skills in many start-up operations mentoring dozens of young leaders over his career. All providing great growth opportunities for his stakeholders.

James has developed more than 50 courses and dozens of programs in the areas of technology, business, progress management and general education. James has been an instructor for more than 15 years during which time he provided training to over 500 trainers and more than 5000 students. His academic background includes a Masters of Education in Occupational Training and Development and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in Higher Education Administration emphasis on Strategic Enrollment Management. James enjoys working with students and assisting them through complex concepts which he is able to turn into easy to understand and usable skills.

A full profile of my professional career is available on LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesajacksonjr

Connect with me on LinkedIn and here in the Lounge.

Interests

my family, golf, tennis, swimming, and participating in youth sports.

Skills

faculty development, elearning, program and curriculum development, project management, business analysis and technology integration

Activity

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Improving Classroom Management

Manuel, move away from feeling you need to coach them on what they did wrong and focus on what they are doing well. Relate to them where they can move more of their learning objectives to the side of knowledge and understanding by taking the time to focus on what they do well and how to grow this area by understanding how they can do even better. The human brain takes in positive thoughts more than negative ones with respect to accepting them and wanting more of them. Negative thoughts can be very powerful but tend to train the brain… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Ashley, YES! You get it and thanks for bringing this forward. Focus on the positive more than the negative. You need to always provide corrective guidance but make sure to really dwell on what the student is doing well and relate that to how they can turn a negative into yet another positive. Great post. : - ) James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Bobby, thanks for sharing. For some of our students we may be the only positive voice they hear. They get enough about what they cannot accomplish and how unworthy they may be from home, friends, peers and the like. Do not take for granted the power of your support and acceptance as a caring instructor. Caring does not imply you are not rigorous with your educational goals for your students. Challenge them to take their education to a new level but do so with compassion and a true outward desire to see them be successful. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Bernie, education is a tough gig if your only extrinsic motivator is to pay the mortgage. There are many other jobs that can take care of that for you. Focus on your own goals as becoming a better educator. The outcomes you accomplish in preparation for a lesson plan or keeping up to date on your subject matter can be great extrinsic motivators as well. Your self-talk can go a long way in your attitude about your profession. The work you do to be the best educator you can be keeps your brain fresh and allows you to approach situations… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Tom, how did that make you feel? We have another discussion thread on intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for you as a faculty member. You may want to share this one on that discussion thread. : - ) James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Fear Factor with Tests

Mike, try to keep an open mind and move away from the words like "always" and phrases like "no matter what we do". The reality is no matter how you feel your situation is unique and no one deals with what you deal with, there are hundreds just like you and they are accomplishing remarkable results on a consistent basis. Think back through the materials of the courses you have taken, a common theme deals with building a relationship with your students. Does not matter if you have them for a day or 16 weeks, build towards learning their needs… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Classroom Discipline

Judy, you will want to develop several techniques as no single one will cover all situations. As you develop your different techniques, you will come to rely on those that yield the best overall results. Do not be afraid to try new things as long as they are ethical and do not cause students personal embarrassment. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Tami, your story is very common. Many students do not understand how a course is graded and why it is so important to work towards every point. Any point missed is not the end of the class but working towards earning all points possible is rewarded. Your course grading policy needs to reflect this process. If you are offering weed-out courses then this is more difficult to accomplish. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Scott, believe in them and setup your course environment so failure is just part of the overall success. Build small success opportunities and small failure opportunities and build upon that foundation. Small failures do not ruin your GPA just like small successes do not secure your GPA. Provide soft landing spaces and really reward success. I am interested in others and what they have to say or experiences they have had. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Fear Factor with Tests

Arlene, no doubt hard work is part of the solution. Also, we as educators need to be mindful that different students learn in different ways and we should always find different ways to communicate with our students, build professional relationships and were we can, better understand the root causes of their lack of ability to be successful. There will be times that this level of understanding can be put to great use to help students break through barriers and move on towards a better level of understanding so their study efforts are more fruitful. James Jackson

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