Cindy, In relation to your first question about "winging it" vs having everything planned. What I think you will find is that it is a combination of both that gets you through the classes. As you start the course I would have introductions and ice breakers for the students to do. During this time you can wing it and test out your ability to ad lib and be conversational. Also, during this time you will be building rapport with the students so you can be more at ease with your interactions. When you go into the more formal part of the course you should have everything laid out and planned carefully. With that said you have to have some flexibility built in because no matter how hard you try you will go off script, there will be situations come up and you have to be able to respond to them in your own best professional manner. Have a sense of humor ready for use because you will need it no matter how well you plan. As for assessments the more application or problem solving assessments you can use the better. They take more of your time to grade but they give you a much more accurate picture of what your students have learned. Gary