One of the pertinent concepts that was presented during this module dealt with how to assist students with reading comprehension deficiencies effectively learn important concepts. This topic greatly resonated with me since I recently had a student in a Strategic management and Policy class express her concern and frustration regarding her inability to understand the instructions and concepts related to developing a variety of strategic decesion-making matrices. What I discovered was that I needed to present the concepts in a visual format which provided the student with the long-term impact that these matrices had in assisting leaders in making the correct decisions for their organizations. Although this student most likely will never utilize the matrices herself, she at least will be able to understand the critical role that they play in assisting managerial decisions.

One of the most important dynamics I've come to appreciate during my tenure as an adjunct instructor, is the effective use of "Learning Groups." Although this particular course made several excellent points, one point in particular greatly resonated with me. "Impart students with the skills that they need to succeed in groups. Many students have never worked in a group setting. They need some practice in areas like discussion, active listening, giving and receiving constructive criticism, and managing disagreements." Just curious, what learning group methods have you found to be successful?

As both a campus-based and online instructor I have found it imperative to maintain good eye contact in order to ensure students are comfortable and engaged in the classroom. One of the pertinent articles that I've discovered online discusses 6 ways to framatically improve your eye contact skills. Of course when conducting a lecture online you must maintain eye contact in a much different fashion thatn in the traditional classroom. For example, I make it a practice to continually encourage students to share their experiences that pertain to the topics of discussion. I also draw them into illustrations by using their names and their current occupations. Food for thought anyway. Dave Reference. http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/6-ways-to-dramatically-improve-your-eye-contact-skills/

In my opinion Open ended questions encourage more critical thinking.

trying to keep all the learning styles busy in lab has become a challege. I try and have the student perform the task in front of me to show me the task was done correct. If task cannot be done in front of me I like to see what was wrong. Some get angry some like how I do it.

I use a lot of questions in my class mostly to keep them involved. I have a night class and by asking a lot of questions they stay "TUNED IN" they never know when i might call on them.

How to most effectively address a very diverse class? Especially in respect to different age groups.

I feel that getting the students to close their laptops and not take notes would be met with some resistance ( they're use to looking at their laptops during class-even if they are not taking notes!) I don't want to lose rapport with them form the start. Is there a way to do a guided lecture using the laptops from the start?

The learning enviornment in Career Colleges can vary so much from class to class. Some being practical hands on experience based and others traditional classrooms. I find that starting by creating a culture promoting learning, respect and safety helps to set the stage for a positive learning enviornment. Respect: Authority in the classroom, learning process / needs of others, time, and personal contribution to educational process. Learning: Safe zone where no question is unanswered, failures are opportunities to learn, and growth is encouraged. Safety: All students should feel that they are safe to learn, express themselves (within standards) and personal physical safety.

I'm often challenged by whether or not to extend an activity beyond the allotted time to make sure that students are "getting it" or to keep a strict clock so that they will understand the real world pressures of the task. I once taught a recording class where I did the former and everybody achieved and understood the objectives; but I ended the class by saying "You guys did good but you have to work much faster in the real word". I wonder if they would have benefitted more by being pushed to perform and think fast.

I hate multiple choice! I would rather right an essay but the problem that I have with essay is time limitation and it sometimes tests your typing skills versus actual knowledge, should we not do multiple choice?

In japan there is no grades or evaluation till grade 4 do you think it is good idea or it helps to build confidence in students. Do you think this will work for adult learners?

Having an interaction with students is vital part of keeping them engaged? What if student keeps asking questions off the topic what would be your strategy to redirect them to the lecture material?

I consider myself a kinesthetic learner, but sometimes I feel listening to the lectures and rehearsing them to someone is what gives me the best retention of the material, am i still kinesthetic or audio visual?

There is generalization in the lecture regarding average adult attention span. Attention span can be influenced by many outside forces, family, monetary concern family issues. The best way to keep the attention span longer is to focus on the interesting activities. Your thoughts?

Do you often feel that the course content is outdated. What do you think is the best strategy to deal with such situation?

What doest it mean to you to be a professor? Is it to you a dress code showing up on time and be "classic" professor. Or is it your ultimate goal is to teach deliver the knowledge?

When lecturing, I really enjoy incorporating active learning with my students. Providing real life scenarios and asking student's about their experiences relating to the subject matter somehow brings life to the classroom. I see student's more willing to participate in discussions and motivated to speak about their personal experiences. Ask a dental hygiene instructor, what else can I do to better my teaching skills with active learning?

Sometimes, in order to keep the student engaged in the class, the instructor will need additional material, be it brochures, visual or simply stated from another student. The interactions with other materials definitely keeps the students involved and motivated.

The challenge I find in teaching in a career college is the very diverse levels of competencies that the students have. How does one find the happy medium when teaching a highly educated college graduates / professionals at the same time as those that need more than a little additional help. I find myself having to encourage the students that find the material too easy just as much as those who struggle. What are some strategies others have used to bridge this gap?