Mary,
Great! I notice more textbooks are listing hyperelinks or websites for supplenmental or additionl resources. Some texts have many student resources that if used fiully, really contribute to student mastery of the topic. Of course, e-books are becoming increasingly popular, and are loaded with a phethora of useful resource4s, many which tie the reference back to the text book. Very cool.
Barry Westling
There are power points and books provided by the school. These are a great base. The internet provides podcasts, articles and a plethora of other tools. Each semester I surf the web for new information. I always find new and exciting tools. Textbooks have used the web to provide games to keep the students attention. This is a well used resource.
Jennifer,
Having the freedom to choose and select the media and related resources you want is a great asset and benefit. Even though it really wans't that long ago, I actually began teaching in the late 70's, and used a chalkboard, flip chart, and mimeograpgh for copies. Oh, and 16mm films. Sounds strange now, but I developed a vocabulary in order to create mind images since much (in comparison to today) was lacking. Discussion and verbal description played a big part in the role I had.
Barry Westling
I use so many different things to teach my students. I love being able to follow up a lecture with a video demonstrating the skill I just taught them. I use power point every day. I used to teach at a school where we were not alowed to use power point so it was so difficult to explain and show the students what I was describing to them. I love to have freedom to teach using any form of delivery. I also use the white board. I sit back a little and let the students run discussions with every color imaginable with critical thinking assignments. I just chime in when they get off track or the conversation slows dowm.
Aldorey,
To answer your question, I'll use your own statement that selection should be based on your student needs. That said, specific measures for me begoin with looking at the course goals, student learning outcomes, and finally, coursde objectives. I might "what are five alternative ways to potentially teach to meet this objective?" Then, what 4-5 resources are avioalbale that I have access to that could contribute to the lessons. Finally I might ask "what methods will I use to have my studenrts engaged and participating?" By answering all of these questions, most any instructor would be adequately prepared to meet the needs of just about any mix of student diversity.
Barry Westling
I select media for content delivery based on the topic and my audience (student). It all depends on the course that you're teaching and how you want to apply theis new information to the course. Because some content is better presented through lectures, videos, demonstrations, and media. Some students are fast and slow learner. So, I need to find a suitable media for instructions that are suitable to my audience. Do you have any recommendations on how to select a media if you have a diverse students?
Elizabeth,
Nice! PPT's with added embedded features such as short videos, charts, tables, photo's or graphs are a great enhancement to a lesson. Keeping the basic PPT slides simple also removes potential interference with the students train of thought. I get distracted with too much "flying titles, zig-zagging, text, and unusual sounds. For me wwith PPT slides, less is more.
Barry Westling
I have found the use of powerpoints to be very helpful. They can be well proportioned and concise in delivering key information. This allows you, as the instructor, to elaborate more. I also attempt to add visuals such as videos which will allow the student to hear the information without requiring them to take notes.
Amanda,
I the best PPT's have just a good color-contrasted background with bulleted points to facilitate discussion. Sometimes, illustrations, photo's, diagrams, charts, tables or graphs can be inserted (just because they can be illustrated better than drawing them). Too much reading actually distracts more than instructs.
Barry Westling
The textbooks that I use come with pre-made power point slides. I typically go through those power point slides and remove more than half, focusing on the key points. I ad-lib the rest of my lecture. I also use a hands on approach, as I am a sonography instuctor. I have the students applying what they learn in lecture on their scanning volunteers. Every once in a while I will also draw a picture or put a note on the board that captures the main point of our topic for the day.
Allen,
This sounds great!. There is variety and segmented learning sessions. Students learn best with variety combined with structured organization of material.
Barry Westling
I am instructing adults to become healthcare professionals and that involves learning how to use many different types of equipment. I have found that giving the students a baseline knowledge of the piece of equipment via powerpoint with good visual aids followed quickly by lab where the students can actually see and use the equipment, works best. Then I can tie in the information they learned about the equipment with how it will benifit a patient in a real life situation.
Sherry,
By adding variety, instructors make the class more interesting and relatable, therefore, they will be more apt to retain and apply the needed information.
Barry Westling
I try and put different things in my lecturing and giving everyday examples are a great way to get the students involve
William,
That's a great strategy. Really, the key is to do as you do and adjust or modify the lesson to fit both objectives and student needs. When students feel like they're connected with their instructor, their learning and retention of information is bound to improve. With so much media available, care has to be taken to select the best (over just the satisfactory).
Barry Westling
It really depends on the instruction and media available. I like using a multimedia format to include all of the learning styles (visual, audio, tactile), however, that's not always possible. I find that if the learning objective is knowedge based it may only involve audio and visual, but if it's application based then it can include all three.
P.P. are wonderfull and you can select ones that come with the text book then add relevent pictures, overheads or story boards.
Diana,
I imagine there must be hundreds of internet links, you-tube videos, field trips, food preparation commentaries from magazines and newspapers,, or even simulation software thats available to assist the culinary learner. I merely suggest these as posssible considerations to add variety and stimulate thought about alternative media selections.
Barry Westling
We have several methods. Demonstration is the most widely used, as we are a culinary school. We also use the white board and Power Point for lectures. The students produce later what we have demoed.
Marco,
Good. Short "bursts" of information along with a variety of media choices makes classes interesting, more enjoyable, and students retain information better, in part because we've captured their interest and held on to their focus.
Barry Westling
