Greetings, This is my 1st post and I am elated to have correspondence with those involved in such a great organization. I am going to be teaching college for the 1st time at the University here in El Paso and was wondering can this process work in a university class of 100 students. I feel kind of embarrassed to try this (my presentation of the WBT is not nearly as finely tuned as the teachers on video). As a result I am hesitant to even try it. Are there any bare minimums and essential tactics I can use in my large college classes which won't make me feel embarrassed and wont make my students view me as a joke? Please respond to this post I start on Monday the 24th and its Saturday the 22nd. I also feel like a fraud performing what is not genuinely my own ingenuity and creativity. Help!!!

I see what you mean about college students buying into WBT. I can't give you much advice on that (although, there is a college video).But, don't feel like a fraud. Teachers steal ideas all of the time. I've have been headed in a WBT direction for a couple of years all on my own. I started using WBT strategies on the first day of classes with my fifth graders. Some of them don't quite know what to make of this 'crazy' teacher, but I think it will work.

I commend you on at least thinking about using some effective teaching methods. Most college level instructors are not affective teachers. (I have 3 family members at university and hear stories.)

Good luck.

If you're new to college teaching, full blown WBT is probably not for you. However, here is one suggestion that might prove useful and powerful.

Arrange your course as an outline of questions (this might be 80 to 100 questions) ... every topic is a question and every subtopic is a question that needs to be answered to understand the topic question and so forth. Even classroom rules and procedures should be questions. Then, "lecture" briefly, giving an answer to a question ... let students take notes and then see if there are any questions about your answer. Next, have students briefly tell their neighbors the answer to the question. Explain that students learn far more by teaching, than by listening. Then, go on to the next question. Every few questions, briefly sum up your answers. Ask students to then give their neighbors the brief summation. At least, you will have changed your students' engagment with the course, from lecture-listeners, to lecture-listener-explainer-questioners.

As a final detail, make some of your questions on tests, Jeopardy style. You give the answer and students must give the question ... in actual practice this is quite difficult ... far harder than it would seem. It requires that students have a comprehensive overview of all course questions and answers ... and what could be better than that??