My primary goal as a mathematics teacher is always to get students interested and involved in the class objectives. Mathematics is a great entry point into scientific and technological ideas. Relating short anecdotes about science or similar ideas from mathematics helps students to maintain their level of interest in the current topic.
It is always important to assist students in relieving their anxiety surrounding mathematics. Procedural exercises, though they may not provide large insights into mathematical ideas, can give students some of the confidence that they need to gain those larger insights. Giving students plenty of opportunities to try, succeed or fail, and correct their mistakes on smaller assignments can be helpful.
My typical class agenda is to hold a problem solving session, a quiz, and then a short lecture aimed at the key idea of the material for that day. Daily quizzes help students to gain their confidence with smaller assignments. Students also require individualized help with their work. This can be particularly important for adult students, or students who work, because these people can not always take advantage of the informal support networks available to younger students. I always make myself accessible both during problem sessions and office hours so that students can ask questions, reformulate their own ideas, or simply receive some encouragement.
I have taught courses in Calculus I, Calculus II, Remedial Arithmetic, Beginning Algebra, Trigonometry, Intermediate Algebra, Business Calculus, Elementary Probability & Statistics, Linear Algebra, and Discrete Mathematics. Two of those teaching experiences were ones where the cooperative learning paradigm was used in recitation meetings for Calculus I and Calculus II classes. I've also taught algebra classes where graphing calculators were used to help students gain intuition about the graphs of elementary functions.