Lisa Coe

In order to do the right thing well, you first have to do the right thing poorly. If you make a mistake in the classroom, it is important to own that mistake immediately, address it with the class honestly, and work through the mistake together. This shows the class that you have integrity and you're not just there to be an infallible authoritarian, you are there to help them to learn. Sometimes through this process, the instructor will learn too. 

Sometimes the best approach to managing the angry student is to listen to them. Show you are listening by writing down their complaints/concerns. 

Having a method for submitting a written complaint can help to build a framework where the student feels that if they have a concern is will be addressed in a formal, documented way. 

The instructor needs to develop stratagies to manage the behavior of the "center-stage" student. This is so that each student in the class has equal opportunity for participation, and also so that the center-stage student doesn't take over the leadership role in the classroom (by taking that role away from the instructor.)

The instructor can manage behaviors by delploying stratgies such as giving a set number of opportunities per student to participate in the class.

Delegating the center-stage student to the role of monitor/observer, whereby they take notes on the lecture and then summarize for the class in their own… >>>

It is important for students in career college settings to buy in to the concept that their ability to function cohesively as part of a group is a skill that is necessary to their success in the world of work. It therefor is stressed as a component of their successful completion of the course. 

It is important to remember that each adult learner has one style of learning:

Written: the learner gains information by reading

Visual: the learner gains information by seeing the procedure or the concept being executed

audio: the learning gains information by listening to the content being delivered

Tactile: the learning is delivered using a hands on approach. 

Because of this, it is important ot be sure to utilize a variety of educational techniques in order to get through to each type of learner in the classroom setting.

It is also important to take notes at the end of the class… >>>

It is important to know the names of the students, and how to pronounce their names. This helps the student to develop trust in the instructor. It is  also important to be in the classroom early to get set up for the class ahead. This will always reduce stress for the instructor to be able to take a few moments to take care of him/her/themself be getting centered prior to the arrival of students. Finally, students will increase trust in the quality of the program, and thus the institution, if the information is packaged and presented in a concise and… >>>

Model 

Manage

Motivate

This all seems simple, but you really have to work daily at each. In healthcare, as an example, it can be pretty scary to try to motivate students when the subject of the day is fecal incontinence management. Subjects like that require the instructor to dig deep in order to motivate! Modeling behavior becomes paramount in this situation, because the behavior that we project will in turn be what guides the student to want to excel with the subject.

Management! I cannot tell you how many times I had an awesome class because I got there before… >>>

Reply to Bethany Azad's post:based off this comment Bethany, It is very important to also be careful in the wording. 

In my generation, it was commonplace to refer to a person with a seizure disorder as an epileptic. A person with autism was called autistic, and not a person in the autism spectrum. There was the "deaf kid" in school, and there was always the "handicapped kid". It's remarkable to look back on those times and realize that our approaches were very dehumanizing, and because of this, it probably clouded the ability of the educational community of the time… >>>

Though there is no "one size fits all" approach to providing equal access that includes necessary accomodation in order to facilitate participation, there are strategies that can be incorporated that embrace the concept of universal design. These strategies are simple behaviors that can be deployed by any instuctor in any situation.

In my previous experience as an educator, I found it helpful to alternate teaching modalities so that a variety of tools could be used. During a typical 3 hour class, it wasn't feasible, nor was it comfortable (for the students or for me!) to stand and lecture for 3… >>>

This section is a great reminder that the learning disabilities, though challenging, can be accommodated if they are recognized. It has been my personal experience in education that our younger adult learners are more apt to seek assistance from disability service counsellors than are our older learners. Also, after teaching adult learners for a number of years, I have found that older learners often exhibit similar social and learning behaviors to our younger students who have had formal LD/ADHD evaluations, but those older learners (over 40) may not have ever had a formal evaluation or learning diagnosis. This creates a… >>>