Josh Leary

The main thing that keeps coming up in these trainings are the ability to listen and respect your students. Luckily I have not run across any problematic student behavior, but I am sure that day will come. And when that day comes I know to build report and respect between myself and the student, I need to first let them express fully what is making them feel the way they are. This shows that I respect them which helps their respect for me to grow, instead of demanding that respect from the student.

When dealing with a diverse group of students, it is helpful to have a plethora of strategies to keep as many of them engaged as possible. It is also important to maintain basic human care and empathy to address all of my students as fairly as possible. When students are not engaged, I should take that as a cue to add some relevant activities to the class, or even speak with students one on one to gain a clearer perspective.

I learned about the importance of setting expectations and sticking to them, as to help the students feel less anxious about the new material and to keep the class on track with the course material. 

I have learned that there are many tools to use during class time such as computer assisted teaching methods that can make learning more engaging and effective. 

I have learned the importance of prepping for class, not only the materials but also setting up the classroom/lab for class and going through the materials needed to teach the information effectively.

I have learned that modeling professionalism is just as important as getting through the information in the course. I plan on incorporating this information into my teaching style by watching my language (I can get casual when I become comfortable) and making sure I am clean and dressed appropriately.