Hello! Thank you for stopping by.

“Hello” Everyone! My name is Lorrie and I am a Physical Geology Instructor for CCCOnline.

I am delighted to have been invited to share some of my online teaching experiences and problem solving techniques with you.

I was a classroom teacher for over 20 years on both the High School and University levels. I love both science and teaching and so being in education allows me to enjoy and blend both interests simultaneously.

What single factors stand out as important in my teaching career? Ingenuity and Flexibility

Experience has taught me that no 2 semesters or years are the same; no 2 classes in a single semester are the same and of course, no 2 students are the same. Teaching styles and techniques that always seemed to work in the past may need tweaking in order to successfully reach a new class or even one individual learner in a class.

I began my career as a Permanent Substitute in a Public school District. It was my “foot in the door” which gave me an advantage for being hired as a full time faculty member the very next year. Substituting was like “paying ones dues to reach an ultimate goal”.
A substitute’s job is not an easy one. He or she walks into another teacher’s class cold. Students don’t know the teacher and the teacher does not know the students. Discipline problems are to be expected. The subject is usually not within the substitute’s area of expertise and often there are no lesson plans to be found.
It is an uncomfortable place to be in, so how does a substitute survive? Ingenuity and Flexibility

From that single, difficult year, learning to be flexible was something that stayed with me throughout my entire teaching career.

I am always trying to come up with (and learn from others) some new and different ways to reach a student or an entire class when the “old” methods just do not seem to work. Flexibility is critical in the face-to-face classroom and I honestly believe it is even more essential in the online classroom.

Within the online setting the option of verbally explaining course requirements and directions in depth and detail is almost nonexistent, unless one considers audio recordings which still don’t allow for a back and forth teacher/student exchange. “Reaching them all” in the virtual classroom is an exciting challenge!

And so, for my next blog entry I will share with you a “flexibility experience” that turned out to be a winning new discussion tool for me in our Physical Geology Research Discussion Posts. The Title of the blog will be: “Play the Role of the Student!”. If the title peaks your interest then I hope to see you here again soon.

I welcome your feedback and questions.

Thank you for stopping by my area of our Community Blog!
Lorrie