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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.

Figure it out...

After a long lecture or demo, I like to let the students discuss and plan amongst themselves before they get to work. It allows them to transition from one style of accepting information into physical action.

My 3 steps to learning

I have always believed that there are three steps involved in me truly learning a task. 1. Tell me what you are going to do and why 2. Show me the task and an example 3. Watch me do it and critique

Personal experience

I find it very engaging to share industry experience and real world situations to keep students intrigued.

learning outside the classroom

I love it when a student comes to me and says that they saw a program and understood what was said because of what they have learned in the class and then give them another show they can see. There are some many ways. Some even said they understood what was happening to a relative and was able to research it.

problem students

we all have them. What do you do with them when they don't respond to all the disciplary actions taken. YOu hate to give up on students but at the cost of the other students?

retention

this is something I have a problem with. If the student is not willing to do the work or is not qualified, is it good to keep them when they will never be able to do the job due to work ethics or lack of ability?

motivating students

getting them involved and excited about what they are doing is probably the most rewarding and to see the light go on when they understand something is reward for your effort

teaching style

I have found this to be difficult to define as not being a trained teacher and no one has a assesed me to video taped me to show my style. Student feedback has been my resourse.

Learning

I try to make my students feel comfortable on day one....Letting them know not to be afraid to ask questions...

Breaking up long lectures with humor

Some of the lectures in the course I am teaching are a little long, I have found using humor, and tell relative stories keep my students engaged.

student retention

make students feel that you are available to help them. never talk down to them, they are here to learn

Gender and Movement

One thing I would like people to be aware of is the impact of body image in job performance. As the past lesson made us aware, movement and "floating" is important in "claiming the classroom." I wonder how many of us are aware that many women can feel more self-conscious about movement? Studies have found women "self-objectify" (see themselves through the eyes of others) more than men, and this can actually impair their motor functions. I am sorry I don't have the studies off hand. I am bringing it up because it is not always as easy as learning new physical scripts in the classroom. Sometimes it is necessary to identify and counteract negative social influences that are at the root of our discomfort.

New methods of instruction / class activities

I am a new instructor for a course designed for 12 weeks that because of holidays this fall is shortened to 10 weeks. I am having trouble fitting in all the material without overwhelming the students. Also, the material I have been given for the course is generally in lecture (powerpoint) format. I would like to find other activities that could be done in class to facilitate learning, besides lecturing, but I am quite short on time and creativity and am feeling a bit overwhelmed myself. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Student disability

Many students with a disability have succeeded in my classes with positive results. Example: I had a severely visually impaired student in a graphic design class. With extra time, he did just as well as the rest of the class.

Diverse learners

Teaching in an urban environment allows instructors interaction with a wide variety of cultures and language. Useful in open discussions in the classroom.

Learning

When teaching a course in Leadership Development, I discovered that students work well together by allowing them to be in charge of a specific project delegating within themselves what part each student will perform.

Pacing

Pacing can be very challenging and needs constant revision because students learn at different levels.

Motovation

Motivation. Without formal test what is the best way to convey to the student that they gained from lesson. The instructor may realize that the student progressed. The instructor may praise the student but the student does not have a feeling of personal accomplishment.

Learning styles

Many students learn in ways that are different from how other people of the same group learn. It takes an experienced instructor to figure out these differences.

Written communication is jsut as important...

While certainly a dynamic and sensitive spoken communication style in the classroom is key, to often I see instructors underestimate teh importance of there written communication skills. Whether in lecture slides, assignment sheets, syllabi or email's, they let shoddy grammar, spelling an punctuation slide. While its often lamented that today's young students lack the ability to rite in proper english, certain errors scream out, and at least one student will always catch them, even if they don't always point them out. At tat point, the instructor looses credibility and the weight of authority in correcting similar mistakes in the students' work. Like in the above two paragraphs, where I intentionally left multiple word-usage errors, misspellings, misplaced apostrophes, and ironically failed to capitalize "english" (and yes, the typo in the subject line was intentional, placed there as bait). Hurts to look at, don't it?