As instructors we need to be excited about our own career field, if we are, our enthusiasm will spill over into our work and will motivate our students to have an excited interest in their choosen field also.

Preparing lesson plans is very important for classroom management. Without a clear lesson plan, it can be difficult to focus on classroom management. I have been taught that classroom management is the most important part of being a good classroom instructor. Why is the skill of preparing lesson plans not emphasized as the most important?

My dad would always rattle off poems and quotes in the morning when I was growing up. I was the tenth of eleven kids so I did a lot of observering when I was young. "There is a price to be paid in success, that price MUST be made in advance" was one of his favorites. He was always talking about having the right attitude no matter what we were doing and how important it was to be positive. When I saw the part in this section of the course about bringing your personality into your teaching I started thinking back on all the quotes that I have said in class that I got from my father's early morning breakfast talks(more like a coach talking to his team in the locker room before a game). Most of my sisters were runners and my dad would love watching them run. I loved watching them as well and would always stand next to him at their track meets. Three of my sisters ran the 2 mile so it was 8 laps around the track. Sometimes people would go out too fast and fade away at the end. My sisters were late kickers so they would be in the back of the pack at the beginning of most races. One time my sister was in last place coming around the second lap and my dad yelled to her, "You're right where you need to be!" After she ran by I asked him why he said that to her if she was in last place. He said that sometimes you may be in the back of the pack at the start and that's ok, it's where you are in the end that counts. As the race went on she caught the pack and took the lead in the last lap. When she ran by with 200 meters to go my dad yelled, "Just hit light, and GO!" I find myself saying some of his quotes in class to my students when they are feeling confused or expressing doubts. It's important to let them know that they are right where they need to be in their career right now. Letting them know they are just beginning and the race is not a sprint. If they feel confused or if they feel they are in the back of the pack right now it does not mean they won't be leading the way years down the road. Then you can just hit light and go for it in their career!

any system where a grade may depend on an opinion more than solid proof could be said to be bias in nature.

having more than one method of teaching one part of a subject can be good back up and cover a number of student learning abilities.

know every slide and read BETWEEN the lines.

STUDENTS RESPECT DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE INSTRUCTOR RATHER THAN THE PERSON.

Consistency is the most important component of any system of measure. Grading students is no exception. Without consistency, students are without a guidline to determine their progress in the course.

My first professional experience as a teacher was acting as a substitute. I arrived early and reviewed the teacher's instructions and plans. I then looked at the material and figured out what additional activites I could create to keep students busy, should we finish early. This helped keep students on track and we had a productive day even though their regular instructor was out.

It is extremely important to use multiple forms of communication while teaching. CEE states that learning increases drastically when 2 different forms of instruction are used fro the same topic. It more likely to cover each student's learning strenght (i.e. visual, auditory, etc.).

A couple students every course are frequently tardy and absent. I attempt to "catch-up" these students by allowing them to take home quizzes and turn in work late. Taking care of these students takes time and is sometimes distracting from the next lesson. Giving these students the opportunity to succeed is important; however, missing a few lessons and lab exercises should be extremely detrimental to their grade. Not failing these students is very hard and I do my best to help them get through. What are strategies for allowing students to catch-up while at the same time move on with the course content?

I always like to give the student the oppertunity to make up what they missed.

Make sure you have extra work for the faster learners, to keep them busy. that keeps everyone busy and learning.

It seems like three to four topics per slide is alot. Just my opinion.

I've tried different methods of teaching and introducing content, including breaking up the lesson into smaller chunks and relating it to life experiences etc. This is an important class and is a hands-on computer course. All my students in there seem to be doing well but one in particular constantly nods off during lecture and then when she needs help I give her advice and she says: "how do I do that"? Apparently she didn't listen and was sleeping. Long story short, I realize she may work a lot and not get enough sleep etc. but how does one try and magage a situation like this where breaking up the lecture etc. isn't working, even if for just one student? I want her to learn as well so I'd love to find some new methods to try without putting her on the spot or being mean. Any feedback on this?

The presentation included the thought that students will appreciate and respect the hard work by the teacher when exams are returned quickly. However, I have found that most students expect instant feedback (by the next class meeting at the latest) and become quite irritated when their expectations are not met. In this day and age of instant gratification, is our effort to provide instant feeback helping our students? After all, in the real working world, instant feedback with regards to important matters rarely occurs.

So many opinions...What's the right way to go? i think it's helpful, but understand the drawbacks. Is there a happy medium?

Please tell me how to deal with this ongoing problem. Are there books?

I am so unfamiliar w/Power Point. Is there a simple tutorial on how to best use it for teaching?

How can field trips truly impact career college students?