Barry Westling

Don, Yep, especially with technology, there's so many chances something will not operate as expected. A good backup plan that is low tech, topical, and interesting will help convey to the students their time is not being wasted by nonproductive busy-work. Barry Westling

Brenda, Great. Students want (and need) constructive feedback in order to know how they're doing, along with positive suggestions for improvement, and encouragement. Barry Westling

Brenda, True - the soft skills of dealing with others, professionalism, communication, attendance and punctuality, these are important attributes to groom as employers tend to look at these as much as the technical aspects of the job. Barry Westling

Jeff, I agree, and believe it is the rare student that comprehends, understands, and retains all needed information. Repetition and review ought to be part of every lesson. And at the outset, a pretest can help determine where curricular tweaks may need to be made. Barry Westling

Farzana, Immediate communication is nearly always a good thing. Also, talking with students to provide suggestions, praise, encouragement, and/or support increases the students understanding of their performance. Barry Westling

Farzana, Sounds like an effective activity, and students should not feel like they wasting their time. Barry Westling

Farzana, Yes, essential for both instructor and students, as the results and learning outcome are dependent on our ability to deliver our lessons fully and with confidence. Barry Westling

Terri, I believe there are many career-specific general aptitude assessments available, some pencil/paper and some online. Over the years I've used several. While most can give some insight into aptitude, one limitation for them all is none has been able to adequately identify traits that sometimes create problems, such as attendance, punctuality, language, attitude, professionalism, responsibility, dependability, etc. Perhaps these attributes cannot be measured? I do a personal interview which helps define potential problem areas, but a brief interview or aptitude test cannot reveal future behavior. Barry Westling

Terri, Good observation. If the instructor is not approachable, that creates a barrier to learning. Barry Westling

Christine, I agree. In fact, I think it's difficult NOT to provide additional skills, behaviors and professional demeanor while in the process of teaching our trades, especially when the topics are related closely to the work setting. For me, this occurs through examples, descriptions of past situations or circumstances, and stories from my past work history. Barry Westling