Andrew Allen

It was interesting to hear that the block of time for our ability to learn or pay attention to a lecture is 15-18 mins. I will be implementing this time frame into my lectures and then switch gears to a more interactive format. 

I don't feel like building a rapport with our students is that difficult. They really just need to know that you are there because you love what you are doing and that they are truly the central focus of why you are an instructor. We will all have our faults but as long as you can check most of the boxes that were discussed, the students will trust you and this will elevate their ability to learn in your classroom.

The perception of being a prepared and thus competent instructor takes many, consistent small efforts and quite a bit of forethought. To be perceived as disorganized and thus an instructor of lower quality is more easily attained in the eyes of the students, because they have their bar set low to begin with for the most part. Consistent planning well before your given class time, beginning class on time, having your materials ready, not fumbling about with your slides or attendance sheets goes a long way to gaining the trust of your students.

Developing oneself as an instructor is something that need to remain at the front of our minds on a consistent basis and as it was stated in the material, this takes planning but it also takes an objective awareness about yourself to tune up the way you dress, be prepared for class, pay close attention to how you speak, etc. This is a continuous process for each of us and I feel like it is more an more difficult as our parameters for professionalism become broader and more skewed in our society.

I feel that most of these problems in this section are dependent on good, frequent communication with the students as well as setting of expectations and boundaries. 

The complexities of managing a group of students in a synchronous discussion is daunting for sure, with the quick responses necessary and the moment to moment motivation and engagement you need to push. Managing the asynchronous discussion has more ability to think through your duties as an instructor.

I found it interesting that including my qualifications and achievements as well as hobbies and interests would be a good idea to engage with the students. 

With online learning, it has become clear that it really is more about the course management system than it is about the talent and knowledge of the instructor. With the amount of independent learning that takes place in comparison to the number of hours spent with any single instructor, the technology is more important, and it is the instructor that must be diligent in learning the platform and all of its tools in order to manage the course appropriately. Open communication is also extremely important for the learning experience to be optimal on any CMS. 

The concept of problem solving being broken down in to component parts is a great way to lead the students through the concept of problem solving. It gives them a developmental model to follow while they determine what type of problem solver they are and it can help them land closer to the middle of the two types. 

Taking the concept of multiple types of intelligence and acknowledging that everyone has a blend of these types of intelligences was presented in a clear and concise manner that I really appreciate. I understood this concept previously but applied it to my classes as individual learning methods or techniques and I would actually asked my students to work on discovering their own personal methods. However, the cogent fashion in which it was presented here, in application to developing critical thinking will alter the manner in which I have these conversations with my students.