How can I adapt a class that is requiring a certain level of knowledge with a computer program when it was installed late in the quarter and doesn't work properly?

Is there a 'best' way to learn a foreign language regardless of learning style? "Rosetta Stone" has been mentioned but is that not auditory?...and are there better or a combination of ways to learn the language?

I find that by using different types of examples for students not only helps them remember the content, but also gives them a chance to learn me and other students in the class. In addition to giving students examples on the materil myself, I also give them a chance to think of an example and share it with the class. This helps them remember the material in a more significant way since they are able to make a connection to their own life.

The accommodations listed in module #4 can be beneficial to instructors with or without students with learning disabilities. They actually are terrific ways we can be helpful to all students in terms of facilitating higher learning. There were several great hints on keep the students focused on key themes.

A few years back (after 20+ years of teaching) I decided to try a 'radical group formation' technique. I told the students in my class on the first day that for one of the group assignments we would form groups based upon class ranking. The class would be ranked by grades and then starting at the top the first four in a group, the second four in a group, etc.. The ultimate goal here was to force the 'bottom feeders' from riding everyone's coat-tails. If they wanted to pass, they had to step up to the plate and hit the ball. (WOW, how many analogies can you fit in two sentences?!) The end result was amazing... every single group over-achieved for their 'rank'. In fact, the bottom half of the class scored high C's on their projects... more importantly, they actually learned more than they would have had they been pur into normally distributed groups. THEY HAD TO DO THE WORK FOR THEMSELVES!

I very much agree with Module 3 that it is very important in career colleges that we start with the big picture. It is then that we add concrete applications and repetition to increase student comprehension. I find that most career college students ask "why is this important to me" more often and for good reason. We need to welcome those questions, utilize application of concepts and motivate retention of the newknowledge or skill.

I found two pieces of Module 2 to be great reminders to me in regards to classroom monitoring: 1] If you see distracting student activity - it is best to move to that general area of the classroom as an indication that you recoginize it and your presence will often cause it to cease, and 2] Remembering to not let an individual consume excessive amounts of time in your classroon to the point of frustrating other students and causing them to disengage. These are excellent points.

I teach a 6 am class - what are some easy ways to get students motivated at the beginning of class since some are still half asleep.

Hello, just want to get some feed back from all of you out there. I experienced last term two of my student come to class under the impluence of Alcohol. I dont drink, or not yet experienced being drunk, so I dont really know how they feel, under the influence of Alcohol or drugs? How would approach this tyoe of Learner? I try to talk to one of them, and he wen "ballistics' on me, that I have to take him to my Dean for councilling. Just want hear you feed back?

Recently I experienced multiple Challenging student on my class. Constantly absent, late, and argumentive in a class. Negative mind-set. How would you approach this type of Learner?

I teach Information Technology and there are many areas in which there isn't always a black and white answer. This actually is helpful when I ask students questions. Rather than just 1 or 2 students answering a question I can actually the whole class. Each one of them may have a differing opinion but we can then start to develop what we as a group feel the "better" overall answer would be. I especially encourage students to provide insight that doesn't necessarily match what I may believe is the best way. I actually then learn quite a bit from the students this way. Rod

I think the lesson made a great point about episodic memory being the strongest for students. This reinforces the need to bring life experiences into relevance with the class and at the same time answers the question "why is this important?". This will then lead to greater motivation and retention - our goal all along.

How does everyone handle incorrect information in the classroom. Sure, there are bound to be errors in the text book at some point BUT how do we explain the wrong info in the text and in the tests? I find it hard to be credible when the students text books are incorrect, though all other refernce material that the teachers only have access to has the correct information.

I find that in learning by my mistakes, I am motivated because of what I have learned from my mistakes, Ijust want to keep on learning.

I think out of all the sections of the course this final one was the most useful one to me personally and something that is completely relevant to my course. I myself do not have a learning disability and without formal training on the different areas that encompass the subject it is sometimes difficult to comprehend what must be going on in the mind of the learner. I found it useful to identify the different disabilities and most beneficial was the part about the individual education plans or "IEP's". Because of the generation that I grew up in, IEP's were not identified the way that they re today so it is still a relatively new topic for me personally. Knowing about past IEP methods is very useful in determining the action plan for the individual learner and what direction needs to be taken to make the overall experience for the learner a progressional one where they can comprehend and retain the material.

I found this section very helpful in trying to understand the varieties of different learners that we may be presented with as instructors. I think it is helpful to have a general idea of what the challenges may be for a all different types of learners in a broad spectrum. I like the idea of keeping it simple and speaking in basic terms when it is necesary so that the message can be more easily understood. I also thought that the usage of short term assessment was a great tool for spot checking the students comprehension of the subject material to see that they are actually undertsanding it and that it can be retained.

I really liked the overall concepts that were addressed in the second section of the course. The helpful tips for forming learnng groups is what I will walk away with the most and will be trying in my classroom. I often find it a creative challenge when pairing my students up in a group and after reading this section I now have several new ideas and ways that I can mix it up and keep a fresh and energetic atmosphere in my course. I find that the students thrive and are generally more pleased when there is variety in the day to day learning activities that they participate in.

I really gained alot of insight and knowledge form the first section of this course. I was overwhelmed at how easy it is to make a greater impact on your students simply by following some of the suggested tools and approaches that were gievn. I am soo excited to take this course and can't wait to see what lies ahead!!!

I do agree that getting students to see the possibilities will give them hope for the future.

I understand better now that when teachers are prepard students learn.