How do you handle outdated text material if that is the text assigned by your corporate organization?

My best man has a son, Scott, who is in 9th grade, and has a learning disability. The High School he is in has gone away from textbooks and everything is done via a lap top. But because Scott has a LD such an approach is not working for him, for a multitude of reasons. He really needs to have a good old fashion textbook, and an individual plan to meet his individual needs.

I use focus/learning groups a lot in my classes, because it helps in the overall learning experience. Additionally, I found that keeping them in the same group for the entire term is the best approach. They have the opportunity to learn from other by learning about one another. But I also found that some students just hate this approach, and these seem to be the engineering students. The thing is this - what job does one really work all alone with no contact with anyone else.

I good friend of mine told me that when something is miscommunicated, the problem mainly resides with the sender and not the communicator. If we accept this presence then the first step in becoming a better instructor is to accept the responsibility that we may not be doing a good job of getting something accross. Once we acknowledge that important fact/tenet then we can work on other skill sets. One involves empathy, patiences and understanding. Another is we need to become better listeners.

hi... i teach culinary arts and it seems as of late i have many new students who are simply in school to pass time. i often take it personal when i cant motivate them...any suggestions?

how do you respond to questions intened to stump teh instructor?

I have to grade students on how I think they are doing clinically. Sometimes my students think this is unfair because the grade is very subjective and up to me. I've been teaching for 10 years and have been in my field for 22 years so I think I am qualified to grade them accordingly. Is this the answer I should give my students when they guestion the grading scale for clinical skills?

I love it when my class and have a good question and answer session. They can learn things other than what's in the book or a lecture. Real life experiences, other students experiences, and sometimes this will get my shy student to speak up if something we are discussing relates to them.

What is a good assessment test to determine what your students learning styles are when you have a large class?

Music is very benificial to the students during lab time. I choose the type(Rock/Roll) and I aloso choose the volume. It really does calm them down. Scott Humphrey

It has been recommended that I think seriously about using a Smart Board in my required liberal arts mathematics course. I'm old style and love my overhead projector. I have been to other math classes that use the SB, but still don't like having to turn my back to the class or stand in the projector's light or wait for the computer to catch up to me while writing on the screen. I admit that the SB has some distinct advantages, but prepared overhead sheets, facing the class, quickly moving from problem to problem seem to outway any SB advantages. My math colleagues love the boards and I can't get them to see the weight of my arguments. Should I put the old projector in the closet and get with the new age?

I'm completing this course for my school and can't help but think that all this busy work just guarantees tech careers and cuts down on the time that we interact with students.

I find that some students are completely involved in my lectures - like microbiology - and some are bored out of their minds. I love microbiology and totally get into the lecture. Is it just that those students are not interested in microbiology or could I be delivering my lecture wrong?

Sometimes at the school I work at - we get in a little trouble if our class is laughing. I truly believe that fun and learning are an important teaching tool and it keeps the students interested and focused on the subject

Sometimes I run across information in the textbook that is incorrect - I have to explain to my student that someone made a "typo" but it does not make the school look good. I give them the correct information and move on - is this the best way to handle this situation?

Some adult learners seem less eager to be in class - they are tired, with kids, jobs, families, etc. How do you motivate the exausted student?

Does anyone have a list of the 27 learning styles tested by the British Royal Air Force? P.S. I teach video game development, and was disapointed to get the last game-review qustion wrong. I associated the experiential quality of an interactive game playing with the tactile learning style(?), although I think the others would fit equally well.

Motivation is a major component in a students educational skill set. The Instructor must be aware of those students who require extensive and continual motivation.

I teach computer classes and need to constantly walk around and make sure that students aren't working on their computers vs. listening to the instruction. I wonder if others have different techniques or can someone tell me how to turn off the monitors at appropriate times?

I make it a point to have a fallback activity/lesson plan in my back pocket. What happens: if the projector bulb goes out? if the computers don't compute? the planned student presentation isn't prepared? etc., etc. etc. I'd rather have too many plans than not enough.