It can be difficult to manage our time between full-time work, teaching, and home. I find that I work best if I take a few minutes to plan ahead. I get out a notebook and start considering what is ahead and what I need to do to be prepared for it. For instance, last week I decided I would show a film tonight in class. I first started with a Post-It note to remind me to rent the movie prior to class. Then I put in my calendar to call the school to make sure I had the equipement I need. In this case, I didn't use the notebook, because I often also use Post-Its and my calendar. I also often call my office phone to leave myself messages. I use what I can to plan and prepare and I don't simply leave it up to my memory and last-minute decisions.

For some time, I have not offered extra credit or bonus points. My assessments have sufficient variety and a balance of group work and solo work where there is no need for subjective grading. This helps me defend grades because students earn the grade they get - period. Students who ask for extra credit, in my opinion, are looking for easy ways to increase a grade despite the fact that the rest of the class was prepared timely and made the effort when the effort was required. Many of those students do not check their progress through available means, such as the electronic grade book. I can print each student's grades periodically, but I'd like to see students take a greater interest in their progress. I see all of this as connected. Am I on the right track with my observations?

All schools have students with inadequate backgrounds. Not all are related to socio-economic backgrounds, in my opinion. I see many students with a desire to work and to learn, but few skills or habits that help them succeed. Many have no real habit of looking beyond the page that is before them. They do not look up words they don't know. They do not take time to put terms or concepts into groups of similar items. They do not know how to compare and contrast terms and concepts. Writing skills are often lower than some grammar school student's skills. I am often faced with trying to teach learning skills on the fly and then I run out of time for the substantive materials. I always have a Plan B for the substantive materials, but I seem to get tripped up by other factors that should have been resolved long before the student enrolled in college. This is not a shot at my school. I see this at every school, even elite post-secondary institutions. It is easy to anticipate this problem. It is difficult to resolve it.

extra credit is givent to students as an exrta grade. And not intended to boost their failing grade

make sure that you choose a course to teach that you are somewhat strong in or have a good background or knowledge of what they teach cause nothing is better than knowing what you have done before.

the goal that you should always have on your mind as an instructor is to make sure that your students understand you..........most of the time

if you are able to understand yourself you can be cinfident that every one of your student does as well

I don't give extra credit assignments, but occasionally when a student hands in a phenomenal project I'll add a few points beyond the maximum worth of the assignment. I think exemplary work should be acknowledged, and students are always pleasantly surprised at the acknowledgement of their hard work. They usually try to continue living up to the higher levels they've set for themselves.

I use many of the strategies in this module and I also encourage students to take ownership for their own learning. They need to do some homework (reasonable quantities)and study what they learned in class outside of class. A good employee will spend some time outside of their job keeping current in their field.

I am a biology instructor on a low budget but I have found that the simplest experiments can make as much of an impact on student learning and engagement as a large and involved experiment. Even things like observing diffusion in a cup or dropping water onto wax paper and adding soap is a great way to revisit everyday experiences in light of what they have just learned.

I have found PowerPoint to be too limiting. I avoid using PowerPoint. Rather, I have found that I can project images onto a whiteboard and use the markers to highlight important points. This allows, for example, students to see how a criminal statute can be "redrafted" into a criminal charge, or a sentence from a student's writing project can be improved. I agree with other points in this discussion that PowerPoint is only a tool and not an end in itself. When prepping a class session, it is easier for me to set up web pages in many tabs or student projects in several word processor pages and to switch between them as needed on the fly depending on the course of the discussion. This also allows the students and me to be less rigid with a lesson plan and to expand our areas of instruction and learning based on student questions. Could I use PowerPoint for the same purposes? Probably. But why? Browsers and other applications on a powerful computer are just as effective, perhaps more effective.

I was a statue instructor when I started teaching 8 years ago. I also rarely strayed from my lecture notes and often used notes prepared by a textbook's author. My students did not like either method of teaching. I forced myself to move around and engage the students. I learned to write and rewrite test questions so I could avoid test banks and multiple-choice questions. I find that now that I know myself better I can better focus on content delivery in a more meaningful and engaging manner so that my students are more successful in their careers. Tests are more than assessments now. They are also tools for instructing and learning. In order to engage the many different types of students I have, I cannot be a pigeon magnet. And now I find teaching both more student-centered and more enjoyable for my students and me.

I feel it is important to get handouts & all other copied materials done early because it shows to students that you are organized and ready for them.

It definatley makes the class go smoother when youhave all your materials prepared & ready. Coming into class diorganized sets the mood for the students and they become distracted & unfocused. Unfortunatly it can sometimes be tough to have all classes fully prepped when they run back to back & labs need to set up. We often share a lab & dont have the luxury of alwasy leaving materials out until we need them. Having the students help prepare the lab as part of it is one way I can get around that.

Careful planning goes into each lecture to make sure the students can relate and understand the content being delivered. I try to incorporate each learning style as much as possible or as the resources allow. Students tend to enjoy humor and I try to use that to help keep things active!

In the class that I teach I have recently incorporated a powerpoint presentation into my lecture for each week. I have found this really does help students grasp the information and accommodate different learning styles. They are listening to me give a lecture but also seeing the information in front of them. I use pictures, colors, different graphs as well and keep the slides to a minimum when it comes to information. This way I do not overwhelm the students.

I find that students relate to the content of what I am teaching because I have the passion for that subject. In a sense they feed off of my eagerness and get excited about the potential that they have. This ability has paid off through out the course and in their professional life. Bringing in relevant topics and personal stories allows them to be able to relate to me as not just their instructor but someone who has the background to be teaching this course.

I think as a great teaching tool using visuals, for the visual learners, but also having hands-on activities so they can learn how to apply the material they learned. I also find emphasis applying it in different ways whether it be an on-line assignment, simple review questions, a hands-on group project, or even a crossword puzzle. Trying to connect to different students and learning styles is what makes a successful student.

Powerpoint is the new standard. It can be used with imbedded video, music, recorded speech, ect. As long as the classroom suports this technology, it should be used. But many classrooms don't.

I was interested in the section on not being trapped by time. Unfortunately, as I read the description of the time trapped instructor, I could identify that I am frequently a prisoner of time entrapment. Reading it from the student's perspective helped me to understand that I need to try to avoid getting trapped by time. Planning ahead definitely helps, but even this isn't always possible. Many factors can interfere with staying on top of preparation. I realize, though, that I need to keep working on not getting time trapped