I am taking a class over from another instructor. Does anyone have any sugestions?

How do you get a student to learn that don't want to?

I always start with where have the students come from. which classes have they taken so for and how was that experience. Then I tell them what we will be covering in our class.

We return the test back to the students right after they take it to go over the scores and the questions. Is this a good practice or should it be done on a individule basis.

I am always having students wanting to argue about the content of the question on a quiz.of course its always a question the missed . What is a proper way to address them when they feel the have been tricked .or feel more than one awnser is correct Dan Butler

We use alot of pre-made tests. They work well because alot of other instructors teach the same courses so using those tests kind of keep them on track to make sure that every class that comes through that course has the same information and are assessed on the same level as their predicessors

Preparation of a class to me is the key for overall success towards students reaching the desired goal of learning and hopefully retaining course content.

I have found that when a student is to ask me a question I also seem to gain some knowledge from the question. Being challenged by a question, tells me how motivated that student is about learning the process for the skill of their future.

Our student are from many different states so I ask them "where are you from?". I have been to many states. If I have been to their area of the USA we talk for a few seconds about that. this helps break the ice on the first day.

When asking questions to students, you must keep in mind that thier though process only stays within thier instrest. Questions must be made instrusting to them.

It is very important to ID the learning styles of the student. A student that wants a demos will not react to a lecture or audio.

I have noticed that frequent quizzes work great to keep students on their toes, also when students have trouble with a particular quiz they usually take it personally and strive to improve imediately. It usually spurs alot of good questions so that student fully understands the material for the future.

at times if I have a quit group I will give them the info then have a casual review and then go into more detail about the content of the subject. Dan Butler

if you are prepared for your course you can help your students by outlining the days activities on the board before class so as the students arrive they can look and what the plan is for the day.

Hands on is the best learning process for my line of instruction. I enjoy being envolved with each student as they work with a client to see how they envlove with their duties and stay on task.

One of the greatest challenges I have as an adjunct at 4 different institutions is ensuring that I am up to date with the current syllabi and required textbooks. Each University/College uses different methods to communicate to adjuncts and I find that I have to initiate much of the communication myself. Each term I have a least one new textbook to read before I begin teaching. Adjuncts don't seem to get much input into the selection of the textbooks. While I don't mind using the latest editions and new approaches, I find myself spending a lot of time reorganizing my lesson plans to accommodate each change. If not for the great joy I find in teaching as well as the satisfaction I enjoy while performing under pressure, I would give up this gig!

I don't mean to be critical but I have a suggestion. The section on classroom setup talks about preparing your classroom and ensuring you have enough chalk for blackboards. I haven't used chalk in at least 15 years. Are there still classrooms with chalkboards? If not, I think it would be a good idea to change the text in this area as it gives the impression that this training material is old an outdated. At least put a reference to markers and white boards.

I have noticed over and over again that yes-no or true-false questions are usually useless to keep the attention of a class and to further the learning potential. You can see on their faces that close ended questions are no challenge and very little want to participate. I found that layered questions that cause students to create their own answer keeps their attention and sparks atleast a general interest into the subject.

What are some of the best tools you have found for classroom assessment of your students?

I keep records of my class progress and how I feel each group responds to the same method of lecture or demos. I then try new things a little at a time to see what works best as a whole.