Tremayne Simpson

Caren, Do your students communicate on the course discussion board of the student portal? It is a great way to continue to the course discussions, outside of the physical classroom. Tremayne Simpson

Adel , I also make sure that students are aware of additional course resources. Typically, I assign and activity from the publisher's cd-rom/dvd, in order to connect the students to the material. They generally begin to use the resources, once they see what is available for them. Tremayne Simpson

TERESITA, I agree. It is also important to keep the "learning taxonomy" in mind when constructing learning objectives, in order to provide the students with the best "path" for understanding and retaining course information. Tremayne Simpson

Martha, It is very important that we collaborate with our fellow instructors, to ensure consistency in all sections of the course and for a universal acceptance and understanding of the learning objectives. Tremayne Simpson

Caren, As I mentioned earlier in the post, students are always wondering "what's in it for me?" when they begin a course. Making sure that they are able to see the reasoning behind course learning objectives, will enable them to be "vested" in the class. Tremayne Simpson

Adel , Understanding the individual goals of your students is important. I assign a "student goals survey" activity (on the first day of class), to gage the individual interests of my students. Once I have reviewed them, I am able to inform them of how the course can be used to align with their goals, which generally has a positive effect on their class participation. Tremayne Simpson

David, Great observation. In addition to their research on industry standards, students should also know about practices that are not the standard for their field of study. In research there can be conflicting ideologies, however it is important for the students to be able to know where to find "trusted" sources. Tremayne Simpson

Caren, Excellent observation. The students can also use trends and industry forecasting to enhance their creativity, which will be key in establishing themselves in the job market. Tremayne Simpson

Adel , It is also important that the student understand industry standards, in order to be competitive with their peers. It is clear that many of their fellow classmates will be their direct competition for potential employment. Tremayne Simpson

David, I also use a similar approach to solicit student input. I remind them that it is similar to voting and as "student citizens" they have a right to contribute their opinion and provide "positive" or "negative" input on the course. Instructors should only encourage students to participate and never use incentives to gain their participation, because their feedback may not be authentic. Tremayne Simpson