Pat Frank

I modularize my in-class assignments based on subjects covered. If a class runs long and we aren't able to cover a subject, I can push it to next week and simply push that module from the current assignment to the one coming up next week. This works really well because it means that I can adjust the length of my modules across sessions. In other words, if I don't want to shorten this week's lesson, I don't have to, because I can make changes to next week's lesson. This is also easier because I can give some thought to next… >>>

I thought this was an interesting point from the presentation. I think it's easy to forget that the students work all day and can get bored even with fairly interesting material. Anything you can do to wake them up and refocus them on the material is useful. I do use slides when I feel like I have to, but one of the best pieces of advice I ever got from a dean was to ditch my slides in a knowledge-heavy class. I used the white board, handouts for key technical items, and demonstrations whenever possible. Made a big difference in… >>>

I've invited a lot of guest speakers over the years, but I tried something different recently, inviting a guest speaker who was quite a long ways away to talk to my class via Skype. It worked out really well. I don't think it had as much impact as if he had actually been present, but the fact that the speaker was responsive to student questions and had an interesting presentation overcame that lack of physical presence. In the end the students gave it a big thumbs up. One suggestion I have for doing this (or any other guest speaker) is… >>>

Remembering student names does not come naturally to me. I found early on that if I don't make an extra effort here, it won't happen. Oh, I'll pick up a few names, mostly of those who answer questions or do excellent work. But I won't pick up the names of the quieter students, which is really bad because they may need more attention and it's going to feel really awkward several weeks into the course if I go to help them and can't remember their name! So I usually make a copy of the roster and focus after the first… >>>

I teach programming, and the large number of in-class exercises I use produces a frequent case of students standing in line to get help from the instructor. One approach I use to address this is having students who have already figured out the answer help the ones who have not. This engages both the good student and the struggling one. There is a down side here in that the good students will sometimes simply give a solution to the struggling student rather than helping them to learn it. I deal with this in two ways: Making this a "class feature"… >>>

As a technology instructor I get a lot of "center stage students" who are excited about the industry. I like the "observer" strategy, but I am concerned that the student might be insulted by this kind of singling-out. One thing that has helped me from time to time is having a brief 'current events' discussion at the beginning of class. Not only does this give late students a chance to arrive in time to receive the entire lecture (no dodging my lessons!), it also gives me a chance to work the excitement down a notch so we can focus on… >>>

The first quiz asked what the instructor needs to manage a class effectively. One option was "have a plan and stick to it". But the correct answer was "have a variety of learning activities to offer". I agree that this promotes effective class management, but I would respectfully suggest that having a plan promotes effective class management *better* than varied learning activities. Let me put it this way: Having the students do one or two boring assignments in an otherwise engaging course is far less damaging to classroom management than not having a plan. Though I do agree that the… >>>

Module 2 seems to be directly applicable to the subject of computer programming. I would say that it applies at two levels. First, you can use it to reinforce the initial presentation of a programming technique, such as a loop, by encouraging the students to offer examples of how a loop might be applied, and speculate as to what the code might look like (with the understanding at that point that it doesn't have to be perfect). During an exercise learning phase, the technique could come up again. Students working on exercises will make mistakes, and an instructor could look… >>>