David Scott

Location: colorado springs, co

About me

Hi all. I am the Dean of Faculty at a small career college in Colorado Springs, CO. I have my doctorate in education (Ed.D). We are using Maxknowledge as a professional development tool as a lot of our instructors have many years experience in the fields they instruct, but not much experience in instruction/teaching.

When not working, I love to hike. I have hiked to the top of 37 different 14,000 ft. peaks here in Colorado and over 60 total with repeat hikes. Looking forward to more courses on Maxknowledge.

Dr. David A. Scott, Ed.D

Interests

education, hiking, movies

Activity

David Scott

Blog

Valuable TBI and PTSD Information

I am an Army Veteran of 25 years as a Medic and Licensed Practical Nurse. I found completion of the 'ED130- Teaching Students with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder' a good refresher and also learned some new materials. Our school has a student population of over 50% Veterans. I have no doubt that this information will be valuable for all our faculty and staff to better understand our Veteran students. Thank you.

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Friendly, but not Friends

This is a topic we talk a lot about at our college. Teaching adults it is easy to slip into "friend" mode. This is a big mistake. Students need to see you as a professional. Not above the class as on a pedistal, but as the professional instructor they are paying to learn from. You can and should be "friendly" but not "friends." Can you think of a time that you, or another instructor fell into this trap? How did it end?

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Successfully Monitoring Students

I think this is a very valuable skill for instructors to cultivate. Deploying this skill effectively requires getting to class early and being prepared before students arrive. Being prepared allows you to greet students and assess their body language and reactions. Soon into a class you can pick up on changes. From the way "Suzie" comes into the class you can sometimes know whether she will need some extra attention, or perhaps to be let alone for a while. The key is getting to know your students. What example can you share of how successfully monitoring students has helped you… >>>

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Motivating Ready to Quit Students

In our part of the education industry, retention of students is vital. Even more importantly, it is the right thing to do. When you see a student starting to lose their motivation and getting ready to quit, it is time to go into action! Hopefully by the time a student gets to this point, you have already learned about them and what motivates them. Refocusing them on what brought them there in the first place is usually a good place to start. Reminding them about their desire for a better job or a better position in life, can sometimes help.… >>>

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Reducing Participation Anxiety

I appreciated the section on increasing student participation in discussions. Many of our students are reluctant to share in class. The more you can make the environment relaxed and non-judgmental, the better participation you get. I try from day one in a new class to facilitate this participation. I use questioning throughout my classes. This helps to bring out those who are trying to hide quietly in the back of the classroom and shows everyone that everyone has something to give. What do you do in your classes to help facilitate participation?

David Scott

Discussion Comment

15-18 Minute Attention Span

When going through other education classes I have heard even shorter time spans for attention. I do find that given the self interest to a particular topic, I can attend to it more or less than the 15-18 minutes. I like the idea of changing things up frequently. Even if you have a 50-minute lecture to give, there is no reason why you cannot break it up wit a question/answer time, or a relevant demonstration. Sometimes just a stretch-break can help to wake students up and get them re-engaged in the learning. What are some ways you have used in… >>>

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Opening Activities

I always like to start my classes with an opening activity that gets the students involved. Often I will use a short writing assignment (a paragraph or less), and have the students stand and share in the class. I find this opens discussions and helps to gage student attitude for the session. This also helps students who are shy to overcome their fears of presentation. What are some of the things you do as opening activities in your classes that you have found to work well, or maybe something you would never try again?

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Focusing to the Head, Heart, and Gut

In one of the Harvard Business video clips the professor mentioned trying to reach the head (intellectual learning), the heart (passion), and the gut (action) when instructing to students. As a student of brain research to some degree, I find this to be true. The more we can reach the students, especially emotionally, the more they are likely to engage and remember what is presented. What are some ways you can think of to engage learners at either the head, the heart, or the gut; or all three for that matter?

David Scott

Discussion Comment

Selecting Supplemental Materials

Our college is career focused. Although we have detailed curriculum materials it is very important that the materials remain up to date. This is one of the great advantages, as I see it, to our part of the educational industry. Staying abreast of currrent trends in industry and education helps and instructor to pass that knowledge on to his or her students. What are some ways you use to keep up to date in your subject areas?

David Scott

Discussion Comment

The five C's

I appreciated the breakdown of the five C's of instructors being: Credible Candid Compassionate Committed Clear To my mind, they are all important, but we could each probably believe one is the most important. If I had to pick one, I would probably go with "Credible." Once an instructor loses credibility with the students, it is a very difficult thing to gain back. What would you pick as the most important and why?

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