James Jackson

Location: chicago, il

About me

James is the Senior Associate at JAJ & Associates, Adjunct Faculty and eLearning Consultant at MaxKnowledge and member of the Board of Advisors of Dream Catchers Global. James was the Associate Provost of Faculty Development, President of the Online Division at Harrison College and the Director for the Center of Technology Resources for Indiana Business College. Because of his extensive background in technology and his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for assisting aspiring business owners, James has provided his leadership/project management skills in many start-up operations mentoring dozens of young leaders over his career. All providing great growth opportunities for his stakeholders.

James has developed more than 50 courses and dozens of programs in the areas of technology, business, progress management and general education. James has been an instructor for more than 15 years during which time he provided training to over 500 trainers and more than 5000 students. His academic background includes a Masters of Education in Occupational Training and Development and is currently working on his doctoral dissertation in Higher Education Administration emphasis on Strategic Enrollment Management. James enjoys working with students and assisting them through complex concepts which he is able to turn into easy to understand and usable skills.

A full profile of my professional career is available on LinkedIn:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesajacksonjr

Connect with me on LinkedIn and here in the Lounge.

Interests

my family, golf, tennis, swimming, and participating in youth sports.

Skills

faculty development, elearning, program and curriculum development, project management, business analysis and technology integration

Activity

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Traits of Successful Instructors

Andrea, well stated and I cannot state strongly enough the importance of student engagement. Sitting in a chair listening to an instructor lecture is not engagement and the research from teaching and learning heavily suggests we as instructors need to get away from our desks and the front of the room and be part of the classroom and mingle with our students. Good stuff and thanks for sharing. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Improving Classroom Management

David, great post and greatly appreciate the affirmation. What are some of the things you do in your day one that you feel has the most impact on students and best sets the tone for the remainder of the class duration? I am sure other readers will find your comments useful so thanks in advance for any information you can provide. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Kathy, well stated. I cannot emphasize enough the importance and power of positive energy. This can be directly related to some research by Harvard University and the importance of being happy. When students are filled with positive energy and are happy they simply are capable of learning and retaining more. Students that fall into this category also tend to be those that persist all the way to graduation so the impact on retention is noticeable. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Jacqueline, great post and I am very interested in learning more about your peer coaching initiative. Are you using students that are closer to graduation as peers? Do the peers make use of their time spent in this capacity to enhance their resume? Thanks for any additional information you can share with me and our readers about this exciting experience. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Traits of Successful Instructors

kate, well stated and I would also like to add that while students are like instructors in many ways this does not condone instructors acting like students. In other words, we as instructors are professionals and our students have not yet reached that level. This of course is our goal as we matriculate our students through the curriculum but we cannot expect the same level of maturity from our students as we expect from ourselves. I know this is a touchy topic as in Career Colleges we want to think of our students as professionals but the reality is they… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

School Discipline

Sarah, following your schools policies and procedures if important but requires support from the top down. Rules cannot be easily enforced if some implement the rules in one direction while others go in the opposite direction. Administrators put instructors in very difficult situations by not enforcing the policies for all to follow. Being consistent throughout the entire school is also a critical factor towards student acceptance of those rules. Great topic so please provide other comments as others read through this post. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Improving Classroom Management

Pamela, consistency is the key. Regardless of how others may perceive of you or your class, if you are consistent then students tend to have more respect versus the waffling that can take place due to various biases or personal opinions. Thanks for sharing. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Self-Doubt

Jennifer, I understand what you are saying but just know you are not along and teaching any type of class at a Career College has its fair share of students with self-doubt. I mention this only because the techniques that assist the majority of students will be common for remedial courses as well. Conversation and positive feedback tends to be two major components to positive outcomes. Higher Education can at times take on a survival of the fittest approach and only focus on students that fit the system well. Other institutions however have taken the approach of understanding that ALL… >>>

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Classroom Discipline

Kevin, do you make use of any security videos or case studies that drill home the importance of safety and the consequences? Sometimes these videos can really be inspirational and can provide some level of shock value to ensure you have their attention. James Jackson

James Jackson

Discussion Comment

Classroom Discipline

Ziaul, have you ever addressed such behaviors on the first day of class as a "Lessons Learned" from prior courses? This can be a very effective approach to let students know before they act out on any inappropriate behavior. James Jackson

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