I am supposed to teach a full year of College Algebra in only ten weeks as our academic terms have to be kept very short. Other than having students work on problem sets provided by the class worksheets in small groups toward the end of the lecture period, what other group activities can I incorporate? Again, time is a key factor (several chapters/concepts need to be covered and reviewed in the weekly 4-hour lecture), and the class sessions have been disrupted in the past for mandatory career development meetings for students. I would gladly appreciate any insight.

I believe that it is important for the instructor to continue to learn and met the standards necessary to teach students. This can be done by taking classes to continually enhance skills and teaching methods.

Learning environment is one of the factors critical to students' success in the classroom. When students feel comfortable, they are more likely to share and communicate with their instructor and peers, therefore their learning experience is more productive. On the other hand, when students are anxious, they are more likely to be quite, day dream and skip classes. As the result, their are more likely to fail in the course. Thank you, Svetlana

I like to lecture and then demonstrate on equipment as it pertains to the lecture. It keeps students engaged.

I am a new instructor and have only taught for 2 quarters so far (6 months). I learn something new at the beginning of every quarter regarding everything from my preparation to my student's overall impression of the class. I have found that the rules and expectations for the class should be explained thoroughly to the students on the first day as it sets the overall tone for the class. Looking back on my first quarter teaching, I can see that I did not do this as well and as I have become more familiar with my position, I can see how much I have improved in this area. Students are much more confident, comfortable and successful when an instructor has set specific guidelines for the class. I also realize that my ongoing experience has made me more confident and comfortable in the classroom, which ultimately affects my student's behavior and success as well.

I feel that my classes run very well when I look through the content and organize as I feel would work best on a day to day- there are times they seperate subjects that should be taught together

I find that with the subject I teach visual learning is very important- my students learn better by seeing and doing

I agree sometimes music in the class can help- when I was in culinary school we would listen to classical music while doing knife cuts. I found it to be relaxing

I find that every class I teach is different based on the group of students I have. Some classes do well in certain areas while others need more encoragement or excitment to enjoy that particular topic. I try to find ways to make the class exciting for them so they want to be there and learn.

Make eye contact with the learners and move around. Don't stay in one spot the entire lecture.

Learning groups are a good way to ensure that all the students are able to be involved. Groups should be 6 to 8 learners.

They are many different learners. Every student brings Ability, Previous Experience, and Motivation to the class room.

Ask the students if there has been particular teaching methods that have been helpful to them. Then apply what they told you to your lectures.

Many students request to take home their midterm exams in order to study for their final exam. I have declined so far but have gone over the tests in class as a review. I put a great deal of time and effort into test-writing and may want to use the same or similar questions over in the future. When I was a student I did get to keep all of my exams. What do other instructors do?

I have created a few grading rubrics for student projects, such as papers and power point presentations. Letting students know ahead of time what the grading criteria are helps them to prepare. However, then students expect it every time and I feel it limits my grading ability (because I missed something on the rubric) It is an attempt to be an objective grader instead of subjective grader. However, is it necessary every time? What are your recommendations? The topic was mentioned in this learning seminar and I found it helpful. Thank you.

student learning groups are helpful because it gives them a chance to have a voice and not be intimidated by someone of authority.

communication skills are extremely important because it can cause barriers between student and teacher.

occupy time depending on the diversity of the subjct being taught

learning disabilities vary depending on what type of disability it is. students need to feel as thought they have the ability to learn and stay focused

One of the techniques that I have used in the past to engage the shy student is to ask them questions that or more opinion based. I will first ask a student that is very opinionated a question and then ask the shy student what they thought about the answer from the other student. Usually what ends up happening is they will say something that I can pull out of their answer to ask them to expand a little more on.