I found this a very helpful idea. Powerpoints tend to be the outlines of the 21st century. However, I find that students really get bored with them. So, instead, I use Powerpoints to outline my presentations and then I give live presentations for my library instructions, trying to get students involved in the discussions as much as possible.

by working with your students and keeping them on task, you really cover the monitor the students aspect and the student does not realize it due to they are focused on learning and stay interested.

i find that within introductions the class has a fun time doing two truths and a lie. as we take turns introducing ourselves and people are trying to guess the lies there is a lot of laughter and people seem very at ease.

One thing that I have noticed is that there is a fine line that we straddle when we establish collaborative space in a classroom. Finding the balancing point between a static learning environment, where students are intimidated to speak, and a space that students feel TOO comfortable in. One way to get a feeling for what students relate to in a classroom is to pay attention to where they congregate to work and how they interact with each other and their environment. Since I teach computer based courses it is a challenge to see how students can interact when they are hidden by computers. With labs that are laid out to be cost effective we as instructors need to make them learning effective. Watching students outside of class where and how they sit and interact can give guidance to how to make the classroom more effective. This also can give a hint as to how to avoid pitfalls when a student group has appropriated a classroom space where they feel they are in control to avoid classroom management issues.

Imagine youself in the student's shoes and remember what it was like. It will assist you in being a better instructor with more empathy.

I am looking for ideas on how to encourage attendance in class, besides having quizzes or assignments. I feel that I am doing my best to make the classes as interesting as possible, but I still have students who are skipping a lot of class. Other than giving graded assignments or quizzes during class, what methods have you used to encourage attendance?

Our tests are given to us, so we have little input. We do have the ability to offer corrections or point out confusing questions to get them reviewed however.

keep yourself from being a podium potato and move around to keep attention and interest of the class

When learning objectives were presented under Choosing the Right Activities, one of the rules was to use action verbs. While the examples did contain an action verb, most of them were preceeded by a linking verb phrase. "Be able to" and "Have the ability to" make the objectives passive and don't add any additional meaning. Deleting phrases like these puts the emphasis on the action verb contained in the objective. I'll reiterate one of the objectives to illustrate my point. "The student will be able to use Microsoft Project to document and track their projects" becomes: "The student will use Micorsoft Project to document and track their projects." The rewrite is more direct and to the point. It provides very clear guidance and is written in active voice.

Learning disabilities: Students with learning disabilities (from what I found) need more time because they want to understand more than what is presented to them. The student will take the information given to them and dissect it into many different pieces of information.

Life experiences: By using life experiences in the class room, the students will validate information by other student’s life experiences. When you have one student agreeing with the instructor or professor then more of the students start to follow along better.

I found that the best way to keep students motivated, attentive, involved and inspired is through hands on experience, student demonstrations and student lectures. I find something that I and the class need to learn more about and make it their job to explain it to us.

Students in the music business class, though perfect strangers have a common love and passion for pursuing a career in music. It is helpful for them to get to learn about each others experience, objectives, insights and aspirations in the music industry. They are not only making a potential professional and personal connection they are learning and clarifying whatb their place in the industry may be as well. As a teacher it is imperative that I get to know their individual goals as well. This serves as a friendly informal ice breaker.

Groups and Diversity: By dividing students into groups with using diversity each student’s life’s experience will and to the other student’s education.

Maintaining eye contact is very important. You do not want to turn things into a staring contest but you want the students to know you want them in the conversation (lecture).

It may not be possible to create a real work environment in the music business out of a classroom. What I have done is positioned myself as an example of a music industry "gatekeeper" that they may encounter in the real world. Soft skills, presentations, dialog, protocols that the student will have to master to make a favorable impression on industry decision makers are to an extent role played on me and personal "practice" connections.

I have found music education of the 20th century to be not woefully inadequate to the needs of any student wishing to navigate an industry currently in flux... I find if they are learning something they can actually apply in todays world and become familiar with the new professional channels in todays world they get extremely motivated and involved. They say if your attention wanders, there's probably somewhere it wants to go. If the student senses relevance and practical insight, their attention does not wander.

It all depends on the subject you are teaching and students.

At times I find it difficult to keep the class focused. It is very easy to veer off track and start venturing into other subject areas or concepts. In an effort to keep my instruction interesting and show how it applies to other areas I try to draw on experiences students have had or may have in the future, but this can take us off course. Any suggestions?

Hi everyone, It seems to me that this section of the training does a good job of reminding us that there are basic needs that all people need to have met before they are at a place where they can experience learning. Whatever we can do to help our students be comfortable and prepared will make our jobs that much easier. This seems to go back to our model role from the previous section. The more we can model what we expect from the students, the more they will know what we expect. What are some things we can do as instructors to model appropriate/successful student behavior?