This is a great topic for the different student profiles. I found I had someone that tended to nap. I pulled them aside and asked about life, job etc., to determine what I needed to do to help. Fits all the profiles found here, younger, needs stimulation. The answers were, "i don't stay up late", "my job isn't a problem", I was puzzled. I have changed my tactic with the student to engage, call on them randomly, use them in a way I now know from this course is an "observer". The observer position works fabulously and I highly recommend it for these students. I will apply it with more confidence and effectiveness after gaining this information.

I have found teamwork assignments to be effective as I'm sure all of you have. Being a web design instructor I have found that it is effective and popular to allow students to come to the computer and do a brief presentation using the projector of a discovery they've made during class. It engages each individual, they find it as compliment, it builds presentation techniques, confidence and morale among other things. Has anyone else found success using the same?

I am a new instructor, teaching my first class. It's also the first time this class has ever been taught at my school, so I have been creating all class lectures, in-class activities, homework, and class projects from scratch. The time from accepting this offer to the first class period was only a few weeks, not long enough for me to compile everything for each class period. How should I handle this in the syllabus, if I don't know what homework I will be giving them 3 weeks from now because it hasn't been developed yet? I know the general topics of each week's lecture but not the in-class activities or homework assignments.

This sounds crazy... I get stressed when I do not exercise, when I plan to do so and I fail to.

Students are very technology saavy. it is important to include this in the classrooms.

It can be easy to get caught up in the daily tasks and get off track. It is important to prioritize your time.

I love the concept of a stress free life... but it will never happen. Stressors are around us and around every corner. Learning what helps you face and deal with the known stressors in your life is the fist step in combating stress. For me the best place to start in identifying my stressors is to talk with my peers, they see what I cannot and it works like a reflective mirror. At the same time of these talks I also seem to locate solutions and coping ideas at the same time. it is helpful either way.

As a career changer I entered the teaching profession to reduce my stress. I went from being a firefighter/paramedic to working in the culinary arts industry, now I teach. The 20 years of stress encountered prior to these changes was horrific. The funny thing is... it is still there, just with different names, faces, and situations. Stress can be a good motivator but it causes more damage then good. One must become one with the stress, take a deep breath, let it out and accept the process of dealing with a situation. For most in the teaching industry this acceptance of stress is just prioritizing the elements associated with the event and take one element on at a time. There is a saying... "you can eat an elephant if you take one bite at a time". When my students stress to me that they are in crisis I remind them that it is best to identify the stressors and face them head on. And since the career change I kind of do it in a light-hearted manner by stating: "if you burn your product (remember the kitchen setting), it's not like someone is going to die". It took me 20 years of stress to develop the patience to look stress in the eye and make a split decision whether or not it will affect me or not, either way... it is my choice.

amazing isn't it... this was the exact concept behind my last post... you have to make time... it is not given to you. Structuring your time does take practice and it must also take a close look at how you can plan for the unexpected. We have all encountered the day of teaching where you are running from one corner of the room to the other and half way across, you get stopped to answer 3 to 5 questions! Frustrating isn't it. Well it does not have to be. Structure your day based off of weeks or preplanning during your course development. Once the course is written then critically evaluate the materials and be honest about available time. Once you think you have the correct allotments of time, remove at least 10% of the time you gave yourself. This builds in the cushion needed for "one of those days". The second part of this is to then have ready instant lessons that can be done ad-lib style should the time cushion not be needed. Students see this as "added value" over and outside of the traditional learning environment. It also provides the great opportunity to link the lessons to real life situations through teaching about your experiences in the real world.

There are time in an instructors day that only an essence of time is visible. A brief window to just sigh and breath in a breath of relief. Does this sound like your common day? For some it is, and this thread is directed toward those who have that giant clock ticking away behind them pushing them harder and harder to get things done. One of my earliest technical instructors gave me a saying that to this day fits this situation. His saying is "you don't get time, you have to make time" in order to achieve the necessary and substantial outcomes to your event or project. It is all about good solid time management and establishing the directive goal of prioritization to tasks and then setting out controlling said list. For some like myself who tend to over prioritize things and has fun while doing it the saying "time flies with having fun" reflects just how much you DO have time for in the day.

I get nervous when lecturing at times and find myself talking very quickly. What are some ways to overcome this?

Just kidding, The only management techniques I know when engaging in life is getting enough sleep. Without it your creatiivyt goes. followed by your judgement1

Peer review process, with so many opportuites to share and perform peer review this places pressure soley on the individual even in the team work scenario. Karl

The avoidance and procrastination are probably the largest stressors. jusyt beginning is the best. it removes the unkown. Karl

Shopping lists are okay, even necessary, but work lists seem to be counter-productive in that it adds another task to whatever other tasks you may have. In other words, the list itself, and it's maintenance, become tasks--and unnecessary ones at that! Lists actually amke things MORE stressful, as they are a constant reminder of what, supposedly, needs to be accomplished. An instructor doesn't have all that many varying tasks, and those same tasks are repeated each and every term. How could one forget them? Why would one need a list to remember their duties? Does a policeman make lists, too? Should they? What would it look like? --Clean gun --Go to shooting range --Don't get shot Rather absurd, don't you think? When something important needs my attention, I write that item down and always get to it in a timely fashion. Working on one item at a time negates the need for list making. Now where did I put my shopping list?

Classroom Discipline, after reading some of the comments left in the forum I realize I am not the only one with issues of students talking. Depending on the class is how I approach how I handle them. I loud class I speak with a soft voice. Student will naturally be quite so they can hear what I need to tell them. Students who like to sit in the back of the class that think they are the cool kids, I tell them one day one, if they want to talk during class time that they can go outside when ever they wish. These are just some of the ways I deal with different classes.

There are many ways to control stress. I learned that breathing often will help me control the stress. Sometimes I catch myself not breathing because I tend to focus much on my work.

This topic helped me a lot to realize what stressors are and not important. Again priority come first.

Discuss some strategies for setting common academic and conduct standards among instructors.

What are some strategies and tactics for dealing with the adult student who seemingly refuses to acknowledge the instructor's authority, etc. and knowledge of subject matter?