Barry Westling

Kathy, You've touched on an important area. One great attribute an instructor can possess and project is that of being approachable. When students feel they can ask questions freely (and repeat the same question again if they don't understand), or ask for help, or seek and receive advice, or freely communicate, the open channel to reaching students has been improved. No one is ever at 100% of approachability, but it's worthwhile to commit to improvement, if we see value in doing so. Barry Westling

Acie, In a way, organization is half of getting most things done. It's like a tool, and most jobs are done the best when the right tool is used. Students can learn to become more organized and most certainly, one of the ways is by daily observation and demonstration by their instructor. Barry Westling

Stephen, This makes sense in a lot of ways. Once when I tried this, the lower achievers complained they were denied the points and claimed I was unfair with my grading. Explaining my rationale and justifying my actions did little to alter their gripes. I've since learned that any opportunities for EC, bonus points, or adjustment opportunities must be given to all students. I understand different classes will have different purposes, and EC may be more appropriate in some classes, more so than in others. Barry Westling

Stephen, Right. Most of start off a class with an idea of what we want to do, and how we're planning to do it. How nice when we can gain a little insight into how we might be able to focus our class on areas that may need a bit more attention. Barry Westling

Stephen, For me, I still use the flip chart (along with other delivery methods). I have some past pages that allow me to just bring out the page and display it. Of course, putting large poster paper around the room allows for great interactive group work or for teams, each working on a specific segment of a topic. Old school, coupled with newer technology makes for a great variety of delivery modes, which help keep attention and focus. Barry Westling

Stephen, Yeah, we all have a self perception of ourselves, and good instructors have a good understanding of where their strengths lie. I maintain that we never really reach an end point, and even seasoned instructors can be in a constant learning mode. Barry Westling

Adriana, Good example of student-access resources. As instructors, we can choose to insist students use material we think is important, but how much better to make resources available, and let the student decide if there is value to accessing resources we've provided. Barry Westling

Ida Romelle, That's how most instructors benefit. If we can zero in on areas that will require more time or emphasis, that'll make our instructional more efficient. Pretesting is among the methods that help get insight on where the class stronger and weaker areas reside. Barry Westling

Ida Romelle, Good for you. This is a great example for preparing back-up plans. My emphasis in this post is to the regular instructor for the class, the one who is responsible day in and day out for competent instruction. But there'll always be special circumstances, such as you describe. Barry Westling

Ida Romelle, What I've found to be true is change is a difficult thing, and also, unless an individual sees value in it, they will be reluctant to change. For instance, conveying the importance of good organization, unless students see the value, it will just be viewed as work. Good for you that you had an organized upbringing, and you bring these important attributes to your classroom. Barry Westling