Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Using formal assessment to measure student knowledge can come at several different points during your unit plan. Assessments preformed before a unit, while you are teaching the unit and after you are finished teaching the unit are all valid and helpful to a teacher, yet each serve different purposes. Understanding each assessment type is important to helping teachers fine tune their teaching skills.

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Student learning assessment

An ever-increasing number of faculty from all disciplines are seeking ways to learn how the various elements of their courses affect student learning. This search includes assessment methods that are designed primarily for faculty use rather than for institutional data gathering or program evaluation. Feedback from instruments designed primarily for classroom use can guide faculty in modifying their courses to enhance student learning. This allows the instructor to come to a medium on their instruction style also because they can see where all their students are at. If you have advanced students, prepare to have additional work for them so… >>>

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Questioning as a teaching technique

Good questioning is an excellent aid to teaching that is seldom utilized to the fullest extent. Most of us use questioning solely to assess studentsâ€™ knowledge and are less aware of its expanded value as an important teaching and learning tool. Good questioning is a major determinant of teaching and learning outcomes.

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Teaching vs. learning style

Students preferentially take in and process information in different ways: by seeing and hearing, reflecting and acting, reasoning logically and intuitively, analyzing and visualizing, steadily and in fits and starts. Teaching methods also vary. Some instructors lecture, others demonstrate or lead students to self-discovery; some focus on principles and others on applications; some emphasize memory and others understanding.

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Common instructor mistakes

Answering Questions â€“ The instructorâ€™s job is to help students learn. A common complaint I hear from students is that their instructor wouldnâ€™t answer their questions. This sends the message that the instructor doesnâ€™t care enough to help students. Or, it may be that he or she doesnâ€™t know the answer. But if that is so, the instructor has displayed disregard for students by not being prepared to answer their questions.

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Managing the student behavior

TheyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re easy to spot, and every year they seem to grow in numbers. Disruptive students can interfere with learning and erode the classroom environment faster than you can say Ã¢â‚¬Å“For the hundredth time, thereÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s no eating in class!Ã¢â‚¬Â TheyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re the students who are chronically late to class and yet always want to sit in the seat farthest from the door. TheyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re the students who interrupt at critical times, and question everything you say. And sometimes theyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re the students who spend more time sleeping or texting than paying attention. I believe that if you provide structure and stay with it even… >>>

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Behavior problems in the classroom

The common thread running through the literature about disgruntled, unhappy, angry students is this: communication. Most of the time, these students simply feel that they are not being heard, being listened to. Giving them a forum, whether during class or in private during office hours, generally resolves whatever conflict is happening within the angry student. The first instinct of the instructor might be to simply ignore them, and while this approach may avoid a public confrontation, it probably won't solve the underlying problem and allow the student to learn the material

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Setting the stage for success

I believe that when you introduce something new to your students, you need to make sure they understand it. I do this by showing the students examples and working through group assignment, where each student is working through a problem. Once you break it down, have them show you that they are understand the assignment, they will be successful in working them individually.

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Delivering Course Content

When students are accessing material asynchronously you have the option to sometimes assign different content to individual students or groups of students based on the studentsâ€™ learning goals and interests. This frequently allows students to see the how the material you are covering is relevant to their lives and future plans.

Kelly Basham

Discussion Comment

Meeting Your Class for the First Time

Take time to go over the syllabus, introduce the course, and establish common goals and expectations. Let them know the kinds of work they'll be doing - provide examples and demonstrations of the output you expect from them. Spend time in the first session to explain fully how the course will run. Make sure you allow time for questions and to clarify expectations.