Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Been a while for me, but I am new to teaching at the college level. For me, dealing with students with poor work ethic has proved to by my most challenging task. Trying to teach Algebra to adults is a bit of a challenge when they have had years of life experience never needing to use it. It is a tough sell for sure, but I am working on it. Regards, Scott

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Dealing with Difficult people

Not everyone can be pleased. At the end of the day I am confident that I always do my best. I have come across students who vent in teacher reviews about different issues that they are having. I have found that you can be an excellent teacher and do well for most, but never all. Unfortunately I have no fix for this as I refuse to be all things to all people. Part of being a student in a professional career college is learning how to deal with different teaching styles. My end point is sometimes you have to agree… >>>

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Fair and Firm before the Friendly

I am big believer of being fair and firm long before I get any bit friendly with students. It is very important that they see me as a strong capable instructor. I want to deliver quality instruction and being the students friend usually takes away from the teacher respect. There is something to be said for a student being to comfortable with the teacher. It is always much easier to be less strict than to be more strict. Regards, Scott

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Being flexible on late work

As I do agree with the idea that the real world doesn't accept late work, within the college setting, I have found it a good idea to take late work on a case by case basis. Sometimes, you can do more harm than good by being to rigid in regards to accepting late work. That extra day or two might be just what they needed to stay on track. This is a common problem and I am amazed at the number of students that do indeed pay a lot of money to go to school and yet fail to get… >>>

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Multiple Choice

I prefer to test in mathemtics using multiple choice exams for the sure speed of which I can grade them. I believe that they test at the same lever of rigor as an open ended exam yet I can put my time into going over the results rather than correcting.

Scott Lillestrand

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Formative Questions/Assessment

I have found that class discussion is a good barometer of when they are ready for the test. Not always perfect as the more vocal students are usually the ones with a better understanding of what is going on.

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Student Responsibility

One thing I am finding is that many students are not prepared to ask questions from the previous weeks homework. The best solution I can offer on this is to post online the work we do on the smartboard so that when they do get caught up they can look at the work we did in regards to questions. Better late than never.

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Learning Styles

Here is another thing to think about in regards to learning styles. Many of out students are coming back into education with unrealistic expectations. They think school will be one way, but ends up being a lot more of another. A good example is work load and time for help. Some students have a independent learning style and function very well on their own, where others lack confidence and expect a lot of one on one time where it is not logistically possibble. This is a difficult one.

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Taking people from where they are coming form academically

I feel it is important to support students in the math curriculum by providing help and feedback no matter where they are at. For example, if they are a few sections behind the rest of the class, do not make them feel bad for that....just help them where they are at and encourage them to get a bit more done to catch up. Scott

Scott Lillestrand

Discussion Comment

Trust and Understanding

I struggle a bit with this one as I feel that students need to be challenged. As a result, they often complain and act unprofessional...it is this behavior that runs me down. The challenge is that I am not that sympathetic to their woes...their adults and are choosing to do what they are doing and I want to do my best job for them, but I can't change the curriculum to better suit their needs as it is completely put together by a committee no where near the classroom. Scott