What are the most effective ways to get the prority items done and keep track? I like to use Outlook to input my weekly goals and daily tasks. I especially find the reminders of when things are due.

I have a comprehensive syllabus for the class, and I make sure that the students have this to follow. This makes the flow in the class simplier.

I find in especially difficult to handle disruptive behavior and generally non-confrontational with my approach to behavior problems. We have some students with severe mental problems that can quickly turn into violence. Our students carry knives and have been known to fight with each other. In this world we must be ready for any type of personality disorder and take appropriate action based on this. Over reaction to a situation has always turned into a situation that is not productive from either side. The techniques suggested here are very helpful. I also use meditation techniques to limit my reaction and train myself to stop when possibly over reacting to a difficult situation.

This section was a very good guideline to help me set expectations for my students. I do have a student that never remembers what was the homework assignment. How can I help her?

I found this online course very enjoyable. I always knew there were different styles of teaching but to have them clearly defined was great. It helped me identify what teaching style I (think) I have but also helped me identify if not, where I need to strive to be.

I enjoyed reading about the healthy ways to cope with stress. Coupled with freeing up some of my time, I am looking forward to implement running into my weekly routine so that I can cope with stress in a healthy manner.

Being too stressed out can cause less productivity because you feel overwhelmed. I liked the idea of writing down the things that stress you out so that they are clearly defined. Once that is done, it is only a matter of figuring out what you can do to combat the stressful situation.

I found the part in the lesson about not checking e-mail etc every time you go by the mailroom, computer etc. very helpful. I am the type of person to check things constantly so that I can respond right away as opposed to checking it once. I will try to implement this new technique during my next module of classes and see if it will free up some more of my time.

I believe in to-do lists. They are a great way to be able to see everything that needs to be accomplished within a set period of time. Not only do I like to prioritize the tasks, but I also like to put what days of the week they need to be completed.

When the student is talking in class I will utilize the words please see me after class in order to change the student behaivor.

Exercise is a wonderful way to cope with stress! I love to swim and feel much better when I go to the gym and do laps for 35 minutes. However many times I will come home from work and say I'm too tired to go to the gym - not good I know! How do you motivate yourself to do the exercise even if it as the end of a long day?

Does anyone else feel stress over the increasing amount of paperwork that an instructor has to submit? Maybe it stressed me out because I feel it takes time from what we are really suppose to be doing: teaching out students?

The suggestions contained in this module are excellent! I found I was constantly checking my email, which took a lot of time. So now I do try to narrow it down to twice a day - morning and evening. But is even that too much? How about weekends? Does anyone check their emails on weekends? I do, and I guess that contributes to the feeling I am "constantly working" ...

Even though I create a weekly "to do" list, and often accomplish the tasks on the list, I still feel like I am constantly working and I'm not managing my time efficiently. That feeling of working constantly also leads to stress and burnout. I also realize I am in the "immediacy" category, in that I feel I must do a given task right away, even if it isn't due right away. Does anyone else feel the way I do, and any suggestions? I'm thinking that I need to work more at prioritizing and not feeling that I have to do everything at once. Thank you. Lesley Sargoy

Obviously this will not work for every situation but here is one I learned from a very well known artist / musician: Put on some music and everyone dance a short repetitive step. If you see someone else doing a better move copy them. After a short while the entire group will be doing the same move. It's crazy but it works. Everyone has some fun, laughs and sees that working together as a group can happen in an organic nature.

In the first day of class I partner new students with senior students and I have everyone ask eachother questions like where they are from, what interested them in the course/school, what do they want to do when they are done, and something people don't know about them. After they have done that I have the pairs get up and present eachother to the class rather then having the students present themselves to the class. This breaks the ice and keeps all the students engaged and creating relationships from the begining.

One of the mistakes that I made when I was just starting out was trying to be funny before I had the student's respect. Then they just thought of me a comic relief and wouldn't take me seriously.

When I come across disruptive behavior, I will utilize some of the methods discussed in this course. I will share these with my fellow instructors that seem to struggle with students that seek to disrupt the class. Putting these into practice in a training session for instructors will benefit all.

I admit that I have a hard time dealing with angry students. I often match anger with anger and I know that's not good.

I try to ask CSS to be my assistant and help guide that day's class.