I learned that what really matters is making sure they can apply what they have learned.  As the director of a Dental Assistant School I want our students to graduate feeling confident and prepared to work in a real dental office.  I plan to continue focusing on hands on training, giving students opportunitie to practice and making sure they understand and can perform the skills they are learning.

I believe effective lesson planning is important because it helps keep students engaged, organized, and focused on the learning objectives. In my welding classroom, I try to balance classroom instruction with hands-on activities in the shop so students can apply what they learn. Breaking lessons into manageable sections, using demonstrations, videos, and real-world examples helps students better understand the material. I also believe having clear objectives and expectations before each lesson helps make the most of instructional time and gives students a better understanding of what they are expected to accomplish.

I liked the idea that there are three main roles as an instructor. Being a model, manager, and motivator for the students.

There is a danger in using standardized test. Standardized test must be previewed to be sure to material has been taught before testing students, because some standardized test do not match the text book. It has been interesting studying the tests and there purposes for students. We will be using different test types to cover multiple study learning styles. 

Implementing active learning involves shifting from passive listening to student-driven engagement through problem-solving and discussion. Key steps include starting with brief activities, aligning tasks with learning objectives, preparing students with pre-class materials, breaking up lectures into shorter segments, facilitating group work, and providing timely feedback. Effective strategies consist of Think-Pair-Share, periodic pauses for summarization, minute papers for reflections, and peer instruction for deeper discussion and understanding.

Active learning promotes direct cognitive engagement over passive listening, focusing on problem-solving and collaboration. Key principles include cognitive work where students analyze their thinking, the shift of the instructor's role to facilitator, and real-world applications of concepts. Common strategies involve Think-Pair-Share, quick reflections, problem-based learning, and peer teaching. Benefits include higher retention of information, improved academic outcomes, readiness for professional environments, and immediate feedback for timely adjustments in teaching.

In the CTE programs we give assessments to see where students knowledge is on a task. I believe through reading this we should have both hands-on assessments and written assessments to get a better feel of where their knowledge is. We have to remember that our students are hands-on learners. As Bloom's Taxonomy mentions, we should engage student in higher levels of learning. 

I have learned quite a bit on questioning in the class. Questioning students can measure a lot of things. How we ask the question and how broad the question is important. We should keep our questions specific and narrow enough that all students can answer them, this way gets more student participation. Redirecting the question, can still allow students to answer, check their knowledge, and spark deeper thinking.

If used correctly, any of the testing question types can prove effective. A teacher must plan ahead of time to insure students are questioned in an appropriate manner to gauge their understanding.

The key to asking quality questions during instruction is to plan them out. ahead of time.