I have a "no make up rule" or "late" rule the day of the exam. I clearly explain this at the begining of the class. The students clearly understand. I have the highest attendance rate on those days. The only exception is that if they tell me ahead of time, they may take it the day before, after school, or if it is an issue like they go home sick, but I have seen them that day. They may take it the nexy day. If their child is sick and they call and leave a message, I let them come sfter school or have another person in the school administer it, same day only. It works well, and there is no misunderstanding. Last week I had two ladies take the test the day before. My students truely respect the rule.

Stress is a big part of our every day lives. Being an instructor for many years, I feel my stress level is much less tha when I started this journey. 1. I am confident and well prepared in whatever I teach. 2. I put the objectives up every day for each class. 3. I lecture, review the topic and then I do reinforcement exercises. I also give the students their review sheets one week before an exam. They respond well to this and 80% of my class score 90 or above. Organization and keeping on top of your daily work is also key. When I get really stressed, I book an appoinment with our massage students for a full body massage!!!

In making To Do Lists I find myself procrastinating about what I have on my list and then sometimes I lose the list. Has anyone else had this happen to them and what have you done that has helped to overcome this problem to better prepare you for your class?

We have an instructor who has a policy of no make-up tests. However, she takes the best 2 out of 3 grades. That way if a student misses an exam, there is no consequence.

One of my instructors says he will not give essay tests in the future. He will rely on multiple choice and true and false.

My students are always my priority. I feel that I fail them if I do not promptly grade their papers or answer their e-mails or phone calls. I am a role model for them. If I don't care about the class why should they? Am I wrong?

Our school has three semesters per year and typically the staff has two to three days off between semesters. Any suggestions on how we can cope with the stress of wrapping up one semester and preparing for the next in such a short time?

How do we reconcile expectations of our administration, such as every student will pass the course, with classes comprised of low performing students? I feel stressed with the large gap between successful, high-performing students, and those who are unable to pass the exams.

I found this to be so true. The things that I cannot control are the things that give me the most stress. For instance, if you've ever had a student bully you, but the school won't let you tell him or her to stop, it can really put a strain on your well-being. If it weren't for situations like that, I think I would be relatively stree-free. I just wish there was something that could be done.

I have a student whom I shall name “Jane Doe”, she is approximately 50 years old; she is the only white female in the classroom (the others are comprised of 1 African Male and the rest African females and I am Latino). But she possesses the ability to become a good paralegal. Jane is always two steps ahead of the rest of the class and likes to assist the other students during lecture and during computer class time. The plus side is she can alleviate some of the directions I can be pulled into but more often than not she gives them how to complete the assignment without explaining why which then causes more work for me in the long run. This situation has added unnecessary stress to the classroom for several reasons. First, when I request that she hold her comments or opinions to her colleagues until break time, she feels that I'm picking on her. Secondly, she allows her “boredom” to be known to the class through loud sighs and paper shuffling. Last, she talks about her personal life out loud quite often, then thinks that the rest of the class is talking about her behind her back. Jane has gone to my supervisor complaining, that “I am picking on her” but could not give any specifics or evidence to support her allegations, my supervisor, Jane and I met and I allowed Jane to voice her concerns and I validated her feelings – I explained that I'm here to teach not judge and as her instructor my job is to teach all my students, leaving no-one behind to wonder what's going on. In closing, I must add that I will not judge her as a person and I will continue to teach her as my student. I will exercise extreme caution when grading her papers just to make sure that I'm not adding my personal frustration into her work performance – I believe in being fair. But I cannot wait until her graduation date. Any and all suggestion will be taken into consideration with great appreciation.

At the end of each module, I require students to conduct a 10 minute speech with outlines, presentation materials and a question and anwer session in order to demonstrate their understanding of the material that was presented during that module. This is an effective time management tool because I can evaulate them at the time that they are giving the presentation and there is nothing for me to take home to grade. Also, this allows students who have a hard time writing what they understand to show me orally that they really do comprehend the material. It also boosts their self-esteem, allows them to gain confidence in what they know and it reinforces the material for the other students who listen to the presentation.

I understand in theory that this is a good method. However, in my own experience I do not think that this is practical because the students might not underline the right words, and I may overlook an answer that is right and incorrectly mark it wrong. This method could end up costing me more time correcting the essays in the long run.

I get caught up in the trying to provide speedy customer service. I need to slow down and remember speed does not always equate to GOOD! Any thoughts?

The Stress SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)tool focused on helping you to understand your unique strengths and weaknesses in the way you manage stress. It also helps you to identify the resources you have available to you, and points out the consequences of managing stress poorly. It is a powerful technique for understanding your Strengths and Weaknesses, and for looking at the Opportunities and Threats you face. I see it as a way to organize your list of stress factors. This tool can be found on the internet.

Instead of having essay exams I do jeopardy with team participation. The students enjoy the competition. It forces them to organize their thoughts and present the appropriate question. Many of them have said they have been able to put together concepts and system functions much better.Each team of 5 students (6 topics)has a set area to come up with the answers and the other teams take turns answering the the question. I enjoy it because the students ask much harder questions.

If the teacher procrastinates with grading and returning calls, students complain.Hopfully the teacher improves in these areas. The side of procrastination that really concerns me is Student proscrantination. Many of them put off doing what they know is a priority because of demands that are driven by others despite the unpleasant outcomes this may bring. Does chronic procrastinators stop themselves from achieving things they're capable of and fall short on career goals?

I find that stress comes in waves. Then, somehow, you manage to resolve all the issues, and for a time there is very little stress. Then it comes again. Being able to prepare other parts of your life ahead of time seem to help offset the degree to which the stress has an impact. I find it I make a timeline for a project, I'm not only able to see the linear steps required to accomplish it, I can also see (to some degree) the "stress points" that will come along at certain points. If I can identify these, then I'll try to mentally prepare for them and also do what I can to put a reward in after them. An example would be that if I know the end of the week is going to be intense with meetings and deadlines, I'll lock off three hours to go to a concert or a movie. Knowing that I have something good to come to at the other end helps me to offload the intensity of the stress.

Using technology such as online exams tends to be a much more involved process then many teachers first suspect. Often I find you're having to deal with some technical issue (student unable to log in to take a timed exam, preventing students from accessing the Internet to find answers, etc.) that it's almost as much effort as copying up the exams on paper and marking them. Hopefully as this type of technology is refined, this method of examination will become much easier to fascilitate in the classroom.

The biggest stress factor is making ends meet for my families financial well being. The job stress is normal and it is relatively easy for me to keep things running smoothly. But sometimes the financial salary of being a teacher just doesn't add up. We find ourselves considering other professional optons, and wonder if they will meet with family approval. We also worry about the future job security etc...fine arts teachers such as myself seeing programs being folded. Society and criteria for success dictate my stress level. The family comes first and monitary reward is paramount. The goal is to enjoy your job, and the passage of time...but at what price?

Most of the methods discussed in this module I have used in my teaching/grading procedures. I find that with very large classroom enrollment, the essay exam method is not going to work for me. Almost all my quiz/tests are given on a scantron sheet. I have found that I've procrastinated in grading these simply because the machine in the main office is broken (more often than not). Next thing I know I have a huge pile...and unfortunately sometimes I have to do it the long way...by hand with a key or punched out scoring sheet. I have decided to make every attempt to use technology and web-based testing (such as used in this course) for my future assessment practices.