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Ask a question from your peers to help you in your professional work. Seek different points of view on a topic that interests you. Start a thought-provoking conversation about a hot, current topic. Encourage your peers to join you in the discussion, and feel free to facilitate the discussion. As a community of educators, all members of the Career Ed Lounge are empowered to act as a discussion facilitator to help us all learn from each other.

involving all students in questioning session

My class has different degrees of education. Although the requirement to enter the program is only two years in college I have students who have bachelor's degree, medical degree(Doctor of Medicine),other doctorate degrees and associates degree and the 2 yr.college requirement. I normally ask questions during my lecture to a level that is comprehensible to all of them. After the anatomy and physiology of an organ the best portion to ask questions is when I go to pathology of the organ.I can already ask critical questions like "what adjacent organs are involved in the presence of a tumor in this particular organ?" "How many of you knows a friend or relatives having such condition and are they presenting similar signs and symptoms?" Normally everyone wants to participate in the discussion.For me critical thinking is a good stimulating process to check how much they understood and how far they have learned. It is much also better than memorizing. Thanks for the other tips on questioning in this module.It is definitely helpful to instructors with diverse student education and population.

Preparation and Organization

To be int he classroom early and ready to teach or assist students with any questions or concerns for what they are about to learn. The lesson plans are on the white board; white board is being used and copies of the day's class for each student.

To be focused on the student experience and learning outcomes.

To behave as a model professional at all times. Continially engage with students while they are learning through our experiences and through the course outline guides.

Active Learning in the Writing Center

I facilitate an Online Writing Center. One strategy I have found effective in engaging students in active learning to help them develop key skills are workshops that include interactive practice activities. For example, we have workshops on paraphrasing and writing thesis statements that include activities that invite students to work together to create paraphrases of a passage by working through the steps for writing a paraphrase. Students share their ideas and ask questions. I would appreciate additional suggestions for including more acitve learning opportunities in the Writing Center.

Course Objectives and Planning

How do you handle a course that requires flexibility? As an instructor, you may want to plan out the course but there may be circumstances that do not allow for planning out the semester. This may cause uneasiness but if it is out of your control, how do you deal with this?

"powerpoint" - in the dark

I have found that PowerPoint is overused and keeps the spirit of teaching lost. It does have its place and a "GREAT" powerpoint presentation with color ,anamations ,videos Etc is great. I wonder how many use powerpoint everyday just reading from a poor slide that they made or were given, no real energy just line after line oh put me to sleep now. If this is the only way the teacher delivers the material to their students day after day then they need to learn some other teaching techniques. Maybe teachers like myself who never use powerpoint are looked upon as boring and weak? My classes are never boring if anything just the Opposite. I can't say I'll never use powerpoint But for now, I won't keep my class in the dark.

First Time Teaching

Early in my college career I was going to become a second-grade teacher. However, after being a preschool teacher, I realized that becoming an elementary school teacher may not be the best for me. After completing the first learning module, everything I had studied from my past teaching courses came rushing back to me. Now I will be a clinical instructor for nursing students. Although this may be in a different learning capacity, similar teaching principles definitely apply. What challenges do first time instructors generally face?

Delivering Course Content

In a classroom we have 4 styles of learning and 3 ways students learn. We as instructors must reach as many students as possible therefore, we must try to reach at least 2 learning styles each class period provided the stubject content allows this diversification. I use a demonstration of a problem in Accounting on the white board first, lecture next, and then I use Excel and a projector to show the worked probelm on the screen. Then I allow the students to pick a problem for me to work and we work the problem together. This seems to work. Then they have a similar problem for homework.In Document Processing I, II, and III I key along with the students which seems to help the students build confidence.In Spreadsheets I always work the Tutorial with the students and then they work the Review and case problems at their own pace.

Meeting the Class for the First Time

When I meet the class for the first time I am nervous as well as they; therefore, I introduce myself and tell about by work experiences then we play a game where the classmates try to find people who like these certain items. The one who finds the most in 15 minutes wins two movie tickets. This gets the class to move around and get to know one another. Then they introduce themselves and tell about their life experiences if they choose. After this we take a break then I pass out the class syllabus and go over the rules very carefully. I especially emphasize the importance of attendance and how attendance play a big role in the grades they can obtain in the class. I call the role and try to learn their names quickly. Before class is over I try to teach them one new piece of information to wet their whistle to want to come back and learn more.

Multi-format instruction

I find that it is best to vary instructional methods within a class, as well as the delivery format, in order to keep the lesson fresh and interesting. This is especially true in longer classes or when teaching seminars (such as some 6-hour seminars I've delivered). Planning, of course, is very necessary. The teacher needs to have a clear idea of when and how to change the dynamics of the classroom so as to provide a smooth and interesting lesson.

First Class

There are so many methods of starting the first class. The aims are many: to relax the students, to provide introductions, to explain the course, etc. I find that it really depends on the student population. For example, more experienced and older students (e.g. adults) usually like to cut to the chase and trim out all of the unnecessary introduction material. Younger and less experienced students usually need more time to adjust to the new environment, and they require more assurance.

Syllabi

One thing I've learned from teaching is the importance of the syllabus document: having a very well-developed, detailed, and informative syllabus helps not only the students, but also the teacher in terms of understanding the overall nature, structure and direction of the course as it unfolds. I recommend putting a lot of time and thought into developing this critical document. It should also be continually updated and improved as the instructor learns what works and what doesn't.

Soft v. Hard

One thing I noticed about one's instructional style is that culture is often important. While teaching in the public secondary system in the US, I noticed that it's usually more effective to be stern with students at first, and then permit flexibility later. In other cultures, for example when I taught in Asia, it was the opposite: it paid off more to be very warm and open with students at first and then be strict later in the school year. I think it is important to note this important cultural difference in terms of instructional approaches.

preparing for class

I would like to think if as an instructor and i come prepared the students will feel confidence in me and also i would lead by example

When teaching new classes

Is it ok to let new students know about past unsuccessful behaviors from past students.

Dyslexia

I have never understood fully the problems of dyslexia. I only knew that a few letters would be exchanged for others. After reading the sentence, and seeing how people with dyslexia see it I was shocked. I have learned a great deal from this.

learning disabilities

I did not realize that students with many learning disabilities, had the same intellegence of those of average or higher. I was amazed to read about this. I did not think that they were less smart, but was able to understand how they were seeing things in a much better way,

Life experiences

I didn't realize that life experiences would be so critical in helping the students in class. I do use them periodically, but I think after reading this module, I will use them much more.

Learning methods of ell students.

I have not experienced a great deal of this kind of a problem as yet. Most students that speak spanish, are very capable of understanding english. But it would seem to me that if you did have a great barrier, that it would continue to take away from the rest of the class. Is that true, or as you continue on, things would get easier?

using more gestures, and physical presense.

I sometimes don't use enough gentures while in the classroom. I know I have a physical presense. But the times I have used gestures, I recall that it got the attention of the students in a much better way.