Barry Westling

Barry Westling

About me

Activity

Roberto Pretests provide information about prior knowledge. Barry Westling
Erin, Also, providing some degree of soft skills such as attendance, communication, and professional behaviors amplifies the technical or career instruction the student receives. Barry Westling
Erin, I find it awful when I begin a class and feel I have prepared less than I wanted. Preparation takes discipline and time, but is reflected in the student outcomes. Barry Westling
Roberto, Students usually love these activities -- a break from the routine, an opportunity to see some aspect if their future career, and usually, motivational. Barry Westling
Melville, My preference is to not award EC, just because my focus is on measuring learning, and I think giving EC skews the grading. I'm not opposed to bonus questions, or dropping the lowest quiz, because students have legitimately earned (or not earned) these points. Barry Westling
Melville, In a very general sense, anytime we can get students engaged, involved, participating, I believe we are using multiple senses as a matter of default. Smell and odor are very powerful (think of a smell that immediately takes us back to a memory decades earlier). Yes, more senses helps retention of information, but I don't always try to force it -- just engage the students. Barry Westling
Melville, Great. When students are given clear expectations in a clear, organized and comprehensive manner, the potential for fewer "mistakes of interpretation" is less likely to occur. Barry Westling
Kim, This is true. Personalizing discussion regarding progress or improvements can do much to strengthen the. Relationship between student and instructor. Trust and greater respect are the least among many potential outcomes. Barry Westling

Melville, Well, even your question suggests you have the capability and insight to generate an organized thought of importance. Instructional effectiveness is a topic beyond the scope of this forum. However, I can share that I start with reviewing and trying to understanding the purpose of the topic. The course description is helpful for that. I also look at course objectives, since your students will also be looking at them for clues about the depth and nature of your discussion topics. Next, your course objectives should lead to a list natural daily objectives that a student studying this topic should… >>>

Melville, First, as to how to create new habits, another important piece is having the desire and drive to want it. That, along with repetition ought to achieve the wanted goal. Journals in the classroom are highly personal and individualized as to format and inclusion. For me, most often, it's been a reflection of the activities of a class that are memorialized. For instance, a student question not asked before, a new example or analogy that came to me spontaneously, or perhaps an area of emphasis that was new. My curriculum binders are organized by topics, and laden with post… >>>

End of Content

End of Content