Lectures can be informative and can hold the attention of the class, but, I find that being engaging helps. I walk into the class, address students who seem distracted, puzzled, bored. I don't work from the podium.

I never thought of myself as a facilitator, but I did know and I tried to tell my studnets that as many times that I teach a class that I can always learn from them as well as they learn from me. Sometimes the students just won't believe that as an instructor we can learn from them, that we are suppose to experts at the subjects that we teach.

As I proceed through the outline, I am constantly looking for ways to edit and add to my instructional material in order to make it more accurate and poignent. I don't believe that a class should be exactly the same in consecutive presentations.

I have encountered my first "group" of three inseparable students; they walk in at the same time, talk together, answer together, rarely discuss during class together. I haven't had this yet during my time at this college, and it is frustrating for 2 reasons: a) they are very intelligent when they do comment, but b) they rarely speak to the class, only to one another. Any suggestions to get them to talk or engage with other students? (My course is almost entirely group discussion).

I feel we often get so wrapped up in the warm and fuzzy aspects of our interaction that we may not convey the reality of the transition into the work place. Certainly, we need to be receptive and concerned, but, once into the work place, the question for the graduate/employee is did we prepare them to shrug off and grow from disappointment, aggression, challenges, and all those elements that are part of work where few are going to throw their arm around us and reassure us that it will be alright.

This will allow the students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills that they have acquired in the course.

I know me personaly I must pay attention in my diesel lab on how much each student knows, What might be good for one may be too advanced for another of vise versa. Sometimes i find myself having a couple different levels of lab work going at the same time.

Are methods that enable students to reflect the skills and knowledge they have required during the class instruction.

I teach at a culinary school and most students that attend, typically lean towards the "visual learning" side. Saying that, if they aren't involved in the lecture part of class, their interest seems to wain pretty quick. One strategy that was offered to me from another instructor was to involve the students in the demo for the class. Have 1-2 students prepare the dish as you walk them through the steps for the class to see. This wouldn't work for every element we teach, but if it builds on items that know, it could be effective. This could also translate into a scenario of peer learning as well. Which could make the process and outcome stick with the students longer.

Many of my students can get over motivated. I can start talking about a medical assisting subject and to engage the class I may ask if anyone has ever had a similar experience, then everyone wants to talk about their experience or their child's experience, etc. and before you know it every one is talking and it is chaos. Any ideas to keep quiet directed engagement?

I teach veterinary technology and I have labs a lot of time in class for students to learn practical aspects. Some of the students really get into it and others just sit back and don't participate, and the ones that don't participate usually complain I don't give them enough lab time. Any tips on how I can engage these students more?

I tend to observe at least one class like the one I will be teaching asking another instructors about tips, suggestions, problems or successes they encountered during their courses. In addition, I visit the classrooms in advance to familiarize with the equipment, lightning, technology, and layout of the room to ensure we have an environment suitable for learning. Furthermore, I start the class with a strong opening explaining what I hope to accomplish in the course and why I find this topic or subject matter to be important. Finally, I simply raise some of the most fascinating questions or problems students may encounter during their careers to spark their curiosity. By doing this, I can then describe how this course might help students address and solve these inevitable situations and problems.

The quality of the content a course offers students is one of the biggest factors in their success or failure. It is imperative to build a solid course content that can be shaped and molded into an effective learning tool. The course outline should be clear and indicate that the content coverage is suitable to the goals of the course providing the opportunity for students to use and develop critical thinking skills while requiring them to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate a body of information enabling students to learn and master particular skills of the discipline for both short and long-term enrichment.

Starting a class with the right foot is critical for us to succeed as an Instructor in the culinary field. Arriving half an hour early prior to class allows me to set the environment in a way that promotes learning and develops engagement from my students. This will ensure the right equipment is working correctly and the product is available for students to effectively accomplish production for that day. It is imperative we lead by example and being prepared truly demonstrates we are committed to our students success.

After reviewing this chapter, I will start including the following teaching strategies during my classes to meet the different types of learning styles: Tactile-kinesthetic- lab demonstrations including hands-on practice with different stimulating activities students enjoy with reward and recognition in addition to manual projects. Visual- offering of pictures and charts during lecture allowing them longer time to take notes and make diagrams, and allowing them to have extra time to think for correct answers. Auditory- utilizing vocal variations during my lectures allowing students to work in small groups and increasing the rate of verbal instruction.

I have been given new book a week before class is too start. It's all new format from what I'm use too. What is the best way to transfer material and prep?

Many avenues of education encourage group think, and group task for learning. Today's students are socially driven. is this truly appropriate for industries that function on individual thinking,problem solving, and accomplishment? I find many of my students seemingly unable to "think for themselves" when asked to stand apart from their group or class. Are we pushing this group thing too much?

In my field of Culinary Arts most questions asked in the classroom are closed questions where students are required to memorize information such as measurements, recipes, and techniques. This is especially true in the beginning classes. As the students get farther along I am afforded the opportunity to incorporate more open ended questions such as how does this recipe relate to foods that you were exposed to growing up. I think there is a need for both types of questions in our field.

I regularly love to incorporate videos in my class power points especially when they relate to the topic we are currently discussing. The students seem to absorb the material more when they can visually see the skills at hand being taught. The demonstration is phenomenal, especially for those students who have not quite grasped the skills that they need to acquire in a hospital setting

When I have my students give presentations on case studies, how can I encourage the other students to ask questions and participate?