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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.

I will certainly try to use teh tips given in this course. I do move throughout the classroom and try to watch how fast I speak while lecturing. Good advice.

Student Involvment

I try to ask every student in class a question each class period. I find it helps keep them alert, and focused. Although sometimes the answers are not what I was looking for.

new instructors

how many instructors feel as if they were not given enough training before having to teach a class?

student advisings

when is it okay to give a student advising for dress code? should it be after after one warning? should there not be a warning?

having a disability

HAVING A STUDENT WITH DISABILITY TAKES A LOT OF PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING ON THE INSTRUCTORS PART. THERE WAS A STUDENT I HAD IN MY CLASS WITH A DISABILITY AND I WAS WORRIED THAT THERE WOULD BE A DISTRACTION WITH HER ASSISTANTS THAT CAME WITH HER, HOWEVER SHE WAS A MOTIVATION TO THE OTHER CLASSMATES, THEY SAID TO THEMSELVES IF SHE CAN DO IT THEN THEY COULD ALSO.IN CONCLUSION HAVING A DISABILITY DOES NOT STOP YOU FROM REACHING YOUR GOAL. YOU CAN DO ANTHING IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT.

The most important skill a student can learn...

...is how to take tests, especially standardized tests. All professions require the completion of a huge comprehensive exam in order to be admitted into that profession. The Bar exam is a good example: it doesn't matter what your GPA was in law school or how many times you were on the Dean's List, if you can't pass the Bar, you can't be a lawyer, period. Teaching students how to prepare for and take tests will be a skill that they will thank you for (later).

Understanding field requirements or crushing hopes and dreams

Students often do not understand the requirements necessary to enter certain fields or job areas; assignments that acquaint them when those requirements can be very "educational"in a variety of ways. For example, it is not uncommon to encounter students who want to enter highly competitive fields like law enforcement to have little or no understanding of how difficult those jobs are to land (frequently there are hundreds of applicants per position) or that becoming an FBI agent requires graduate education in law, accounting, languages, computer science or some other advanced degree that the FBI happens to need and be age 37 or younger. Students often have unrealistic expectations about their desired careers that could stand correcting, even if they don't want to know it.

Role playing as a aid to questioning

Giving the students a role (like a reporter, detective or researcher) can help them by providing a context for creating and asking questions, especially when coupled with a scenario that they have to "solve". For example, presenting them with a "crime scene" and "suspects" (role played by the instructor and having different personalities and characteristics to keep it interesting) and then asking them to create the questions they need to ask to solve the crime is a very useful critical thinking that students find both interesting and engaging. This method is also helpful if you are a frustrated actor and want to practice your technique.

Reality does not follow theory

Learning styles is an interesting idea and has become something of a "sacred cow" in education but the awful reality is that most businesses (and for that matter, professional schools) couldn't give a hot damn about what of learner you are; the message in those environments is typically "our way or the highway. In both law school and graduate school (in clinical psychology) you were expected to conform to the style being used, not the other way around. I also never had an employer ever ask me (or seem to care) what my learning style was--what they cared about was whether or not I could do the job they wanted. I think that it is often the duty of the individual student to figure out how to make the material being taught fit their style as opposed to expecting teachers to accommodate them. Therefore, that might be a more realistic approach to take than to try to adapt your methods to four admittedly different styles. What do you think?

Five commandments for effective teaching

1. Thou shall be interesting. It doesn't matter how well you know the material if nobody is listening. Bore your students and they won't be learning from you. 2. Thou shall be excited about thy subject. If you aren't excited about the subject matter, your students sure as certain aren't going to be. 3. Thou shall be fair and unbiased. Remember how you felt about "teacher's pets" when you were in school? No more need be said. 4. Thou shall be strict but fair. Students need structure and expect you to provide it. Students need standards and need you to set them. If you don't follow your rules, you can bet they won't either. 5. Thou shall make sure thy zipper is completely zipped before class begins. Don't ask. Let's just say I'm glad that you can't really die from embarrassment.

Students with learning disability

Such students should get special treatment not only by instructor but also by someone trained in that field and the school should step in. Student with learning disability can frustrate both an instructor and other students since lots of time and attention is spent on them. The solution is that extra hours should be reserved for such students in the form of private tutoring which brings them to the level of the class and avoid frustration in the class. I think the Federal law does not extend special treatment for disabled students after the age of 21. The school should find the means.

How can you keep up with your course schedule and at the same time make sure students got the course?

Every course has its own time schedule. An instructor should finish the course material within limited period of time. However, if say for example majority of your class have problem with the course and you are obliged to take time so that students get the material, you cannot finish the course? How can you handle this problem? Any suggestion is welcome and appreciated. Thank you

Instructional Delivery Expert (IDE) and Subject Matter Expert (SME): can they be complementary?

I just wonder if IDE and SME complement each other! As a student, I got both IDE and SME, but not a single time have I witnessed an instructor that possessed both. Those instructors that are extremely genius in their subject area tend to be poor communicators. The ones that are excellent communicators lack profundity in subject areas. Why is that?

The journey from review, overview and then to in-depth view

I enjoyed ED106 especially module 1. The communication skills given are what one needs in class. I have witnessed the importance of starting the day with review of previous lesson that interconnects lessons and increase relevance as well as understanding of the subject matter. Onces the days lesson is connected to the previous one, an instructor should begin with overview of the lesson to be covered and slowly and smoothly delve into details. Make sure you are not alone while delving into the complex and detailed. That journey should include students. If not the road is not paved

Subjective Tests

I believe subjective tests require a higher skill level for students and preparation than the objective tests.

Objective learning

How can both students and instructors learn from this style?

The Importance of Encouraging Students to Attend Live Chats

Stressing to my students the importance of attending the Live Chat sessions and reviewing the archive chat more than one time is something I do all the time. This enables the student to truly grasp what I was teaching. It also instills in them the importance of attending class and interacting with their peers and teacher. Those that attend the Live Chats and review the archive chats are usually the ones that never have problems completing assignments and getting good grades. Helping my students understand that their success is their hands is the way to help them take ownership of their successes.

Eye Contact

Hello Learners, In terms of eye contact within the online setting this would relate to maintaining communication through email and within the discussion forum. As an online instructor it is so important to create a positive rapport with the learners and give them all the resources needed to be successful. When conducting live chats, I always welcome each student to let them know that I am aware of their presence and always open the forum to questions and comments.

Common challenges with learners

..providing plenty of resources.

helping students with reading challenges.

providing more auditory learning tools can prove to be effective.