Terry Pawlak

Blog Comment

Becoming an Instructional Delivery Expert

I agree this was an excellent module. There has been a trend over the last 10-20 years with students presenting with increasing behavioral/stress-related problems.

Terry Pawlak

Blog Comment

Study Reveals The Best Study Strategies for College Students

This was interesting research on study methods. Two areas that have been successful for me in the classroom is giving multiple mini-quizes. It does seem students can do better with "smaller doses" of material. The second area that does seem to work well is having a student explain to another student in their own words what we have just discussed or read. This engages the student and makes learning proactive.

Terry Pawlak

Blog Comment

New generation of students

Yes, there has been a change over the years in student's behaviors. We have discussed this in department meetings for the last 5-6 years. However, we do want to be careful of any terminology we apply to this.

I have noticed the retention ability as a whole has decreased. When I told one of my recent classes that in the prior semester one of my students from China had received excellent grades in this class, several students rang out "oh sure, from China, no wonder." I informed the current students that they had the same opportunities and capabilities.

Terry Pawlak

Blog Comment

ED 201

One of the largest problems we face today as educators is how much time to devote to each individual student. I personally feel that with appropriate one-on-one time, any student can be successful

Terry Pawlak

Blog Comment

Time waits for no man

You are correct. The amount of material in any subject discipline is increasing exponentially. As instructors, we try our best to highlight the most relevant ideas. Due to time constraints, we are always trying to put a round peg into a square opening. The main emphasis is to encourage the students to continue learning on their own.

Terry Pawlak

Blog Comment

Sharing keys

I had one class 3 years ago that I will never forget. It reminded me of a chaotic high school class. Almost every student was disruptive....constant talking during class, asking questions over material I had lectured on 10 minutes earlier, not paying attention during class. Now that I have more experience, this is how I should have handled the situation.

After the first day, I should have used a seating chart based on my perspective....and I will change the seating arrangement at any time. Even though I explained the syllabus on the first day, I should have emphasized the consequences… >>>

Terry Pawlak

Blog

reading comments from other participants

Comments posted by other class participants helped to define issues and solutions.

Terry Pawlak

Discussion Comment

keeping all students engaged

That's a great idea. I do the same thing...it does keep the student's attention. I also use differnet tonal volumes to gain their attention. If a student doesn't have the answer, I will ask others, just as you have suggested. Then later in the presentation I will go back to the original student and rephrase the question slightly differently and ask again.

Terry Pawlak

Discussion Comment

Knowledge vs teaching experience

I remember in my college classes several instructors that were just tremendous in getting us to understand the material in the course while other instructors, although experienced in the subject matter, had trouble getting the information into our brains! Now that I'm the instructor, I try to learn from my students. If the entire class in having difficulty with a concept, I know I have to try a different approach. I'm continually polishing my skills and making the appropriate changes. If an individual student is having difficulty, I will work with them one-on-one and change my methods to suit that… >>>

Terry Pawlak

Discussion Comment

student(s) complain other student(s) are sheating

This type of situation has to be handled very carefully. I've had situations where one or more students have complained about another student cheating. Often times, this "cheating" student in not part of their casual group. As an instructor, you will have to observe this student more carefully during exams. I've also made general comments in class about cheating and the expected consequences. This makes the entire class aware. All the instructors at my school recently watched a video as part of our continual training about current methods of cheating. It is very amazing to what extent students will go… >>>