Barry Westling

Amandeep, Yes, students have always been receptive to these activities in my classes. They break up the routine, provide insight, and can be very motivational. Barry Westling

Elmer, Great. Providing honest course status information in a sincere, caring manner usually achieves the purpose of informing students where they're at in the course and also conveying we are interested in their success. Barry Westling

Elmer, Good example of a practical way that pretests can assist students! Barry Westling

Elmer, It's important we play to our strengths as the student is likely to benefit from our stronger delivery styles. Yet, variety is important too, and good instructors will tread into areas less familiar, and be willing to explore methods to incorporate techniques they may feel less comfortable with. In doing so, we may reach more students and possibly improve student learning outcomes. Barry Westling

Elmer, Yes, and I think students can sense when an instructor is stressed, frazzeled, or disorganized. It can affect their attention, and perhaps, even their motivation. We want our students to be focused on the content we are facilitating, not distractions due to unpreparedness by the instructor. Barry Westling

Mickey, Yes! And that's such an important challenge we all have as instructors -- for the students to trust and accept that their instructor is there to help them. I know when students express interest and want to learn, that's where I get driven to really do all I can to assist them. Barry Westling

Mickey, Another thing about the field trip is many times some students really have only a vague idea about the career area they're studying for. On more than one occasion I've seen students really get motivated after attending a field trip because they had no idea about what they would be doing. And even if some students know what they're getting into, they are often even more motivated seeing something about their eventual work setting. Barry Westling

Lisa, My opinion is grading should reflect learning. Ideally, no one should exceed 100%. If giving EC raises a grade even a little, I have to wonder if that is more related to points and grades than it is to learning. Each has to decide whats works best for them. Barry Westling

Lisa, Creative! I've done something similar by passing around different objects used in the work setting and students are required to examine, handle, explore, and think about pros and cons of using the device, and write their observations on a 5x7 card (for use later for review). Touching and handling contributes to long term memory. Barry Westling

Lisa, These are all terrific descriptions of benefits students may realize. I have seen these experiences transform some weaker students, giving a renewed motivation and inspiring them to begin to buckle down with their studies. That's always a rewarding side effect. Barry Westling