Jay Hollowell

Thanks David! I too am a supporter of contests and competitions as learning activities in the classroom. I'm curious, what types of contests, etc. do you use in addition to keeping point totals? Are the points related to specific activities, projects, vocabulary/terminology, etc.? Jay ED106 Facilitator

Thanks Blaik! Good observation! Sometimes simply stopping and taking a deep breath, adding an example or relevant story, asking a question, asking a volunteer student to paraphrase or provide an example may all help to vary your pace through a presentation. Jay Hollowell ED106 Facilitator

Hi Warren! Thanks for posting in the discussion. Hope you are doing well! Interesting point about the disaster example. You are so right, adult learners tend to remember details of more shocking examples and it does change the pace of the lecture. Just curious, do you, per chance, ever provide an example of a project or procedure gone wrong, resulting in disastrous consequences and have students determine what actually was done incorrectly in the steps, then back it up with your presentation? Thanks again, Jay ED106 Facilitator

Hi Mike! Outstanding technique! Some students in the group are definitely "support" members, but still need to be active and, as you said, a part of the dynamics and the learning curve. Jay Hollowell ED106 Facilitator

Hi Donald! Thanks for your comments! I'm a pacer as well; I think that moving around the classroom heightens interactivity and demonstrates that the instructor is engaged with students in the learning environment. At the other extreme, I had a teacher in college days that paced back and forth continuously at the front of the classroom, but never really got into the students' learning zone so to speak. It drove me crazy (smile)! Jay Hollowell ED106 Facilitator

Thanks, Wayne! True, I have found too that each class has its own dynamics, strengths and challenges, thus requiring a different instructional style and perhaps different classroom management techniques. Jay Hollowell ED106 Facilitator

Hi Steven! Thanks for your comments; good strategies; may I ask, "What is typically included in the review packet? Is it subject-specific, terminology, study habits, vocabulary, self-assessment, etc.?" Thanks again, look forward to your response

Thanks Mark, to your point, the days of just reading from a book and even just listening to a lecture in the career education environment are few and far between. It tasks us as instructors to be innovative in the various teaching methods we use. Jay Hollowell ED016 Facilitator

Hi David! Sorry for the delay in responding! Your suggestions are excellent to help with the identification or recognition of learning challenges. I hope that all of our forum participants will read your post; not only do such methods help prepare us for working with challenges, but they faciliatte a buy-in from students - a partnership, if you will,among students and instructor to maximize the learning experience. Thanks for your comments, Jay Hollowell ED106 Facilitator

Hi, Brian, true, larger groups often get off track more easily with some members just going along with the flow. I have found through teaching and training that an optimum group size is 4 to 5, depending on the activity or desired outcome. Agree? Thanks, Jay Hollowell ED106 Facilitator