After I lecture on a math problem, I have the students work a problem and check with their neighbor. If one of the students is lost, the other re-explains the concept. This helps both students and creates a far more open room. Works great for me!!
Michael
I have experienced similar "lost expressions" with my students. I would spend so much time at home planning the "delivery style" of my content only to discover during class that the 'sea of lost faces' revealed that the material was not "getting through" to my students! In retrospect, I think I approached teaching that particular subject matter from the "style" in which I thought they would learn best and found out very quickly that another tactic would have to be employed. As I approach my medical assisting classes now, I try to refer to my post-class journals to see how various learning styles were received by the students and how I can improve their understanding and application of the material. The diversity of learning styles is certainly a challenge for any instructor!
I always administer the Barch Learning Styles inventory to determine the learning styles of the students in my class. Students benefit from knowing their particular learning style. I hand out study tips geared to the students' learning styles. Student feedback confirms that students are benefiting from this procedure.
It is difficult to incorporate all learning styles into a presentation, but involving as many as possible gives students the best opportunity to succeed.Yet some students do better by them self.
In the classes I taught in Medical Insurance Billing and Coding, I found that most of my students learned by doing, or kinetic learning. I would bring in actual records for them to read and code. When I covered specific chapters dealing with specific areas of anatomy, I would provide visuals that could be passed around the classroom, i.e., if we were discussing coding the skeletal system and orthopedics, I would pass around parts of a dis articulated skeleton that coincided with the lecture. the students responded to this with more focus, better attendance, thorough note taking, and heightened interest in the content of the course.
I think this is a good idea because when students work in smaller groups they tend to open up more and in return they get more from the group
Small groups are great and is most beneficial, I think, to any students having difficulty. My students seem to like direct instruction, but they also know that when they do a group quiz or assignment the odds are that all the people in their group will most likely do well.
When teaching my classes I try to employ the use of several different learning styles to ensure that I have met all the students needs. You can tell just by observing facial expressions and body language who has grasped it and who hasn't. When there are too many "lost" expressions then I know that I need to employ another tactic.
It is difficult to incorporate all learning styles into a presentation, but involving as many as possible gives students the best opportunity to succeed. I find some small group activities tend to appeal to a majority of the students.
When an instructor has 30-40 students in front of them, there will definitely be people whose strengths are in different learning modalities. Using boards, overhead transparencies and power points are great ways to satisfy the visual oriented. Explaining while writing examples on the board and discussing problem ares/answering questions will help those more tuned in to the auditory mode. Expecting students to take good notes and show all work helps kinesthetic learners. As teachers, we really have to feel assured that in every class that we teach, we've done our best to hit on the strengths of all of our students!
