At the start of every course. I do assigned seating. I create a grid that corresponds to the classroom and write the students name in the box. That way, I can call everyone by their name and have a good way to put a face with the name.

The concept of having an angry student write down their issues is great. Not only does it allow the student the opportunity to clearily express their issues, but it also gives them time to reflect upon the issue. I think this will help them have a "cool off" period versus "bustin' into your office and cursing you out" mentality

I have experienced students who are overly chatty and those that routinely sleep during class. I agree with the course that a good way to deal with both sides of the spectrum is to split the class into small work groups.

After working in IT management for 12 years before starting to teach, I feel as though I bring something special to my IT students. The first day, I discuss various job opportunities and discuss the skills needed for each one. I even go into what companies in my area are currently hiring certain positions and discuss salary and the working conditions. I realize that a very small percentage of my students will pursue IT for their careers, but I do find that everyone gets excited when they hear about various jobs that are explained by an actual hiring manager.

I'm the type who likes to have issues resolved now. If I can not resolve them immediately, I push them to the side and eventually have a pile up of tasks that take time to complete. A to-do list would remind me to check the "in-progress" pile more frequently and follow up on these items on a more regular basis. I sometimes have a "need to be done now" mindset so strong, I completely forget to write anything down. I need to take the time to make out a list because this would greatly reduce my "Sorry, I forgot" responses.

How can you keep balance between maintaining a professional distance and creating a friendly environment in class?

Hi all, It is nice to be here with you where I can get valuable and practical tips for teaching. Here is my problem: What can you do if half of your class in Math is at the higher level (example at calculus level) and the other half cannot add? The content of the course is in between the aformentioned levels (pre college algebra). Thanks

In one part of the module, they mentioned putting ourselves in the student's shoes. I think its very important to remember how we felt when we learned the materiel, when framing our lessons. By doing so the lessons will be more educational and the students will know that you care.

Finishing a class at 12:30 AM, then having to begin at 5:30 preparing for your 7AM class with just a few hours sleep can cause stress and difficulty sleeping. I become stressed worrying about performing while being so tired.

With the increasing sizes of my classes, I have found it necessary to use efficient test grading systems.

I am great at making a to do list. Unfortunaly, I do not have a chance to finish the list by the end of the working day, because of many interuption, and it seems to be important at the time. How would you handle the situation?

One of the most important things I think I do is learn the names of all my students. Even when students' names are hard to pronounce, I make the effort to say it correctly because a person's name is the sweetest sound to them. At the beginning of a new class I promise them that I will learn their all their names and I keep that promise. I make plenty of mistakes along the way and I always apologize, let students laugh at me, and keep trying. Eventually I get it right and often the whole class will cheer when I do. One of the reasons learning students' names is important is the obvious reason that each student will know you care about them. But what is also important to realize is that the process of me learning about them allows them to see how the process of learning occurs for me. It allows me to show them that it's okay to make mistakes and it makes me "human" (without having to involve them in my personal life). It sets the stage for them to be okay with making mistakes and for a safe learning environment. My goal in teaching a class is not only to relay the subject matter of the course. It's also develop and nuture a group dynamic that accelerates learning. By being able to immediate say a student's name I can subtly build trust or quell a disruption. Names are valuable. It's the most important word to the person who owns it and it has a lot of meaning for the student. So why wouldn't I want to have that connection? A student's name is just one more access point to their brain; one more way to teach them what I want them to remember, and one less obstacle that might get in the way of their success.

I never sit down when I teach a class. I can't. When I'm in front of a classroom I feel like I'm on. It's my obligation to engage my audience for the next 1 to 2 hours and I take that seriously. Sitting down, to me, implies that class is a converstation. And while there will be dialogue, I want to ensure that the words go in the direction that is best for the material being learned. I rarely have behavior problems in my classroom because I seek out the students that aren't engaged in the work and do what it takes to reel them into the course. It may be catching them doing something good and telling them I notice. It may be a compliment in the hall, or a private "thank you" for coming to class. Also, there is an old saying in education, "You will never know how much your student can do until they know how much you care." So, I let them know I care. Sometimes telling them is enough. Sometimes I have to show them. Showing them sometimes means giving them a break on a late assignment, with a promise that they won't get behind again. No two students are a like and sometimes it's not easy to know how to reach a particular student. That's where listening comes in for me. In the words of Stephen Covey, "seek to understand, and then to be understood." Of course he was talking about it a slightly different context in his book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," but I believe the principle still applies.

Some of the challenges from students comes from a combination two characterisitics. Aptitude and Persistance. Aptitude is the student's ability to grasp the material and persistance is the student's effort put forth for learning. A student with a high aptitude and a high level of persistance knows a lot and tries hard. We like these students because they make teaching easy. They get it the first time and they are willing and eager to learn. A student with a high aptitude and low persistance are the ones we view as "lazy." These students would be hard pressed to get an extra point at the end of the semester if they were bordering on an "A" or a "B." The student with a low aptitude don't usually get it the first time around but they hang in there. They come for extra help. They stay after class and ask questions. These students are the ones that we appreciate and come the end of the term and they're close to a "B," they will tend to get the extra point to help them over. Then there is the student with a low aptitude and low persistance. These students, unfortunately, characterize most of the students we teach. These students to get things every easily and they give up the moment something seems insurmountable. These are the students that miss class frequently and have many excuses for not turning in assignments. Remember, we are a career college. Our students either weren't planning to, or weren't prepared to go to college. But it's incumbant upon us to help them change. One of the best ways I know to increase effort is by decreasing the preceived difficulty. For example, in the beginning of the semester I may give a quiz that everyone can pass. This builds confidence, and provided it's not too easy, it creates a sense of accomplishment. This actually creates a kind of feedback loop. Once the student experiences a success, that motivates them to try more. Then they experience another succes and want to try more. The caveat is, the opposite is also true. If the work is perceived as too diffucult, our typical student will want to bail. So, to deal with the low aptitude and low persistance student I take it one success at a time.

In a world where televsion dominates our lives, we have become accustomed to "commercial breaks." Watching television as a kid I can remember RUNNING to the bathroom during a commercial break and feeling a sense of accompllshment when I got back to my favorite cartoon before the commercials were over. Back then it was a rare thing. Today, we can bake cookies in the time it takes for a television show to return from a commercial break and the breaks are more frequent (good for those with prostate problems, I guess). But the point is, this has affected our attention span. I've seen it in the classroom of high school students and I see it in our college students as well. To adapt to this cultural phenomenon I apply the television commmerical break philosophy to my lessons. It's the 10:2 rule. For every ten minutes of me talking (the show) I take a 2 minute interaction break (the commercial) to allow students to process what was just taught. It may be a "talk to your partner" or an "create a question about..." It's just something to keep their attention in the fashion that students are used to, one scene at a time. And of course, we do take a bathroom break and allow them plenty of time to return before the show begins again!

For several years now, I’ve been building and maintaining a SharePoint-based web site to support all of the courses I teach. Among the tools available, each course has its own “links” area, and students are shown on the first day of class how to access my web site and choose the appropriate ‘links’ page for their course. The list of links can be expanded throughout the course, but the link to the course syllabus and standard course components on my site remain available all term long. Some classes have their own wiki area (they LOVE using this for collaborative work), other courses have their own online discussion area, and some courses are provided with their own ‘shared files’ area. All files have an ongoing ‘activity list’, which shows class activities, assignments, upcoming exams, and due dates. I rely on it myself to recall what I’ve scheduled and planned. Students submit completed work to a specified area or list on the site, and, since our school establishes logins for each student, I can set the permissions so students each only see their own postings, but, as the instructor, I see the list of all items that have been submitted. Once students get the hang of it, it’s an INCREDIBLY helpful way for them to submit work (and I know exactly when it was submitted). Also, students have an online copy of their work files should the worst occur. One drawback I’ve noticed is that recently (within the last year or two) students don’t seem as interested in visiting the course site or participating in online course discussions. I think it may be the layout of the sites or forums, combined with the expectation that the site(s) act in ways similar to ‘social’ networking sites to which they’ve become accustomed. So, I’m curious if anyone’s been successful in using or integrating sites such as facebook or services such as twitter as forms of course management or class communication?

I sometimes have troble pronouning students names (especially some of the last names), what would be the best approach?

I sometimes encounter a type of student who thinks they are an "expert" on the course material and likes to challenge my course material or test my subject knowledge. In some cases, I have "assigned" that individual to research and return to me additional information to support their argument. Sometimes they proudly come back with something new and valueable. Sometimes they have no comeback.

I found that a good hobby release stress and clear your mind.

Being a new instructor, it is difficult to deal with students that demonstrated lack of interest. In the working field, you handle the situation differently with an employee. It seems that there is so much you can do within the teaching field. You try several ways to gain the student interest but ultimately it is up to the student.