It is important to continually self-critique your interaction with students especially if you are a new teacher.

What's the secret? It seems that being prepared isn't always the answer. How do you avoid running out of things to do/teach for the day?

Somebody please tell me how to shut these students up...

I have issues with this subject with only a small percentage of my students. I would like to know more about how to deal with it.

I have trouble with this area as well. I often find it difficult to speak about myself without sounding like a bragart, or as though I'm showing off my qualifications. Is there a way to state your qual's w/o boasting. and still sound convincing?

Good preparation is the best "defense" against challenging student behavior. Always have more prepared than you think you need for each lesson or activity.

As a new instructor I remember totally stressing out on developing my lesson plans. I have learned that classroom management is the most important part of teaching. Yet, after taking a couple of these online courses, I have learned that developing a lesson plan is extremely important to classroom management. No wonder I was stressing about my lesson plans. As instructors, we have a strong knowledge base and I often find myself wondering which direction to go and focus on. There are three basic steps to developing a lesson plan that I have found very helpful. 1st, pick a topic to teach and discuss and introduce the students to this topic through lecture and a quiz. 2nd, design an activity so students can interact and practice what you introduced. 3rd, design an assessment. Include review activities in-between each part. Following these three steps will allow you as an instructor to focus on the students rather than on yourself. What are methods that help you develop lesson plans and a classroom management plan?

I love to exercise and it always helps me deal with work and life stress. I do my exercise at a gym early in the morning to eliminate the day getting in the way of my exercise. I start at 5:30 am so there is little else to get in the way of my completing an exercise program. This also helps me to get to sleep at night.

Stress is a natural aspect of life without it we would be less than productive. However, sometimes I find myself stressing out over getting everything done and doing it well. Come to think of it I have been stressed since notification that I needed to complete some Maxxknoweledge units. Trying to fing the quiet time to do so with teaching, family, grading and being a doctoral student is hard. Now here I am and soon I will cross this off the list......

I enjoy grading because students often teach me about new aspects of the subject. I realize that it is time consuming but I try and give assignments that will result in good solid reserach and as a result the task becomes a learning experience as well as part of my job.

I love to use either outlook, if I am at my desk or a simple pocket size notebook if I am away. when I return to the office I add my tasks to Outlook. These tasks are rank ordered each day and the completed ones are left (strike through) to show what I have completed, good feeling!

I find that one of the main new instructor mistake is that they start "too easy" and then try to pull in the reigns of the class later one. The instructor is never really able to do so. It would be better start very "strict" and stick to your stated expectations. Later once you have control of the class and the respect of the students you can relax a little and still have good classroom management.

Always remember to ask peers and administration for help and suggestions when dealing with challenging students. They may have suggestions that you haven't thought of.

Sometimes you forget what works in reducing stress and need to be reminded. After reading these topics I realized that I have stopped doing things that reduced stress for me. Sometimes life becomes so hectic you forget to take care of yourself.

Not sure I agree with sitting in the back of room during tests. If you do it makes it hard to see students who could be cheating by looking at other resources. Whoops, meant to put this in Forum 4 instead of one, my mistake.

I can relate to the stress of trynig to balance family, friends and work. I can also relate to the stress of trying to juggle many tasks at once. It seems there is always something new to be done or completed weekly on top of my regular duties.

I didn't know there were so many test making resoursed out there. It was nice to obtain this knowledge. :)

My dad would always talk about the importance of setting the tone or setting the pace. Whether he was talking about life or running, he always said it was important to set a strong pace from the beginning. I think with teaching it is very much the same. The first days of class it is so important to let the class know the tone and pace of the class. This way they know what they will need to do to keep up and what it will take to have success in the class.

It is hard to balance the demand between work and home. It seems that there is always one of the other that required extra time/focus. The goal is to find the right balance between the two.

Any tips on dealing with a loud student?