This section opened my mind to the different roles of teaching...I have embraced all 3 roles in the classroom but will be even more aware how each role delivers two-way communication which accelerates learning which is the goal in the first place.

According to the National Center for Health, over the past three decades in the United States, behavioral and learning disorders have emerged as major chronic conditions affecting the development of school-aged children and adolescents. These school-aged children are now adults and are going back to school. Insturctors are willing to help all students with any type of disability, but students with disabilities have to self-advocate. Matching their strengths and abilities is key to the sucess of a disablity learner.

With the change in population and the increase growth rate of children with learing disabilites it is imparative that instructors understnd some of the challenges these students are facing. Insturctors must be aware of the multicultural curriculums, the use of culturally sensitive assessment and intervention strategies to retain, educate, and respect the needs of the diverse learners.

Evening class students typically attend class from 6pm to 10:30pm. Most of them work full time during the day and they are already tired when they come into class. Sometimes they want to leave early or even sleep in class. How do I prevent this from happening?

Learning Group provides fun learning activities for students of all ages. This gives them a chance to bond and bounce ideas off of each other. Learning groups also help students who are shy to participate and be part of the spot light.

During a discussion with a friend who is a professor at a medical college in Wisconsin, I mentioned the fact that it is accepted behavior amoung the students to use their electronic devices during my lectures, and asked for his opinion on the subject. He stated that the problem has become quite epidemic to the point that his college has gone to the extreme by using paint on the walls of the lecture hall which is RF proof, that is, no signals in or out. I find it quite unnerving that even though I stipulate on the first day of class that the use of cellular devices is strictly forbidden during my lectures,and that if a cellular device is viewed during an exam, an automatic zero on that exam has been achieved, students find it necessary to blatently disobey the mandate. It has become a Pavlovian reflex to bring a phone out at any given time! I have heard excuses, which border on the absurd such as "I am unable to read an analog clock, and was merely checking the time". Has anyone, aside from RF "proofing" the room had any luck in stopping this behavior? Thanks in advance for your responses.

PowerPoint presentations is a useful tool to delivery cours content. This highlights the important facts from the textbook as well as keep you focus to move through lectures smoothly.

I have learned during the first day it is important to meeting and greet all student at the door of your class room to help them feel welcome. Games are alway good as icebreaker to get the opportunity to meet each other and for them to learn a little about you as well.

Insturctors at every level uses aids such as a syllabus to prepare and organize lessons. Regardless of the syllabus format this helps students as well as instructors stay on task. This also helps students move systematically toward learner goals.

I learned a lot about selecting a testing format during this session. I test my students everyday and see what they retain. The slower students would leave their test blank frequently.

I continuously assess general education skills on my students because they don't understand a lot of questions that are asked orally or written. Their biggest excuse is that they have a IEP or were always special education students that were never put in population, and could I continue what they were use to doing like read the questions to them. Wow.

Sometime it is hard to keep students engaged. I find it better to ask a few questions at one time and allow them time to think about their answer.

When I begain to understand the different learning styles better, I was able to understand my student's problem in retaining what I think is simple information.

Hi everyone, I've enjoyed reading about all of your great ideas for employing active learning in the career college classroom. I incorporate active learning through writing groups, small group discussions, and guided activities. My goal is to involve all students, but I find that shy students do not participate as much in activities that involve the entire class. In my experience, they do better in small groups. Does anyone have any advice for getting them more involved in all-class activities?

How do these interruptions play a role in the development of an effective and realistic curriculum, scope and sequence, and detailed semester pacing guide?

Have you seen examples of when the involvement (or lack of) from a particular group has helped or hindered curriculum development?

One of the suggestions I read in this module for helping instructors to remember student names was to take pictures of them. Would all students feel comfortable with that? It seems a bit questionable. How do others feel about this?

I suppose my observation is primarily about creating a professional image in the classroom, but it also seems to affect teacher/student rapport and the nature of the teacher/student relationship. Over the years, I've found that individual instructors tend to have very strong preferences about whether or not they would allow students to address them by first name. Some instructors only allow students to address them by their professional title (e.g., Dr. So-and-so) or standard formal address (e.g., Mr. or Mrs. So-and-so). My last name can be difficult to pronounce for some students, so on the first day of class I tell them that they may address me by my first name (though only a few of them ever do) or by some other combination address, like using Mr. before my first name (which some do). Many of my students will make an effort to learn and use the correct pronunciation of my last name. I tell them that I am okay with any of these forms of address and they should choose the one they are most comfortable with. I also add, with some humor, that any of these is better than just saying, "Hey." When I go through the class roll on the first day, I also ask students how they would like to be addressed -- by first name, last name, nickname, or some abbreviated form of their first name (e.g., Rich instead of Richard). Most of them are fine with first names, though some older students prefer that I use their last names. I suppose what I'm getting at here is the idea that names are SO important. But maybe the formality/informality of the address is less important than recognizing the unique individual attached to that name. I always know every name of every student before the first day of class is over and I address each one of them by that name, which sometimes elicits some nervous laughter from the students ("We won't be able to hide or escape from being called on in this class!") or even some applause from them ("I can't believe he already knows us!"). We all want to be recognized. And so much of our identity and self-image is attached to our name (just read Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake). Whether you're a student or an instructor, I think you just want some confirmation of that identity in the classroom. As always, I'm curious to hear from other instructors on this issue.

Measurement of learning is testing. The mode needs to be as fluid as the learners themselves.

I have found that evaluative tests are key. A regurtation of material does not prove learning!