Rene Karnash

I would say that I have diverse learners in my classes. I mainly teach computer classes, so there are younger students who have been using computers all of their lives, and then there are older students who have never seen or touched a computer before. It makes teaching very difficult. Some might suggest partnering the ones who know with the ones who don't, but I often find that the ones who know just get frustrated with those who don't (as if they should already know these things, or wondering why they don't understand their explanation...). Does anyone have any suggestions… >>>

I rarely use group work in my classes. This is for several reasons, including one main reason - I never liked working in groups as a student myself. I teach technology classes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and find that each student needs "hands-on" time to grasp the concepts. Other reasons I rarely assign group work include a very small number of students in classes (sometimes 2 in a class) and it seems that every time I assign a group project, there are more problems than it's worth. "So and so isn't helping, so and so wasn't here, and on and on."… >>>

I have a nice group of students who come to class all the time, study, do what they're told, etc. They are an older group of displaced workers. The problem is that they complain CONSTANTLY. I bend over backwards to make sure that everyone knows what is going on, that everyone is with me in class (we do a lot of exercises together - it's Access and Excel 2007), but still they complain. They have another teacher who goes over the tests before the take them (answers and all) and they think that I should be doing the same, so… >>>

I also have students grade each others work (in classes where it is appropriate). The students not only check paper projects but the electronic files as well. This makes it easier for me as I don't have to open all the electronic files and check those too. This is good for reviewing. I was having students grade each others exams, but some students complained because they were embarrassed that other people could see their low scores, so I had to abandon that. I am using McGraw-Hill textbooks and am looking into their EZTest software. I've worked with ExamView before and… >>>