Hi David,
Students really do love interacting with each other! They learn a lot from their peers, and they really try harder when they are competing.
Patricia Scales
I guess I'm not alone with type of review of dividing class in half or three. Getting them to try and block one of the friends and just watching making it a fun review environment instead of sitting and listening to instructor ramble on. When its coming from them its some how different. Watching the confidence grow in each student that gets evolved. is great
Hi Jeffrey,
You are on point! Students really seem to grasp the information when they are involved.
Patricia Scales
I agree Ronnie, I use a combination of lectures, demonstrations, and lab activities in the class to explain complex concepts. My students seem to better gain knowledge about the task at hand. I have found that the more active I keep the Discussion, the better the learning.
Hi Ronnie,
Excellent approach! Give them theory and then let them do.
Patricia Scales
One topic that I often discuss in traditional lecture form is competitive advantages in technology organizations. These are usually temporary and I explain why such advantages are not long-lived. I've made this a bit more active by having a discussion around these. To make this even more active, I am planning on dividing the class in groups. Each group should look for technology organizations that once had a competitive advantage. They should then research how the organization lost (or maintained) that advantage. The idea (outcome) is that students will realize that competitive advantages are temporary unless continual innovation occurs. The students then present their findings to the class.
I would agree. I use discussion in the classroom and get good feedback most of the time. Then we go into lab and use the knowledge in practice. the students seem to do very well with this approach.
I teach an Intro Psychology class. In the chapter that looks at Development we discuss various theories of child development. As an activity students are divided into groups. Each group is given two toys to play with. Then as a group assignment they need to write down how this toy promotes learning, what age-group is it appropriate for, what gender, etc.
I also break students into groups for exam reviews-they compete for extra-credit points on the exam.
When teaching introductory accounting I like to have students play Monopoly. Only instead of using money, the make journal entries.
I break them into small groups to do this. They seem to enjoy it.
In the past I've given the first semester students a lecture on sequencing fundamentals using my own laptop and a projector. I'll lecture and walk them through the process of how moving certain elements changes the whole genre. The school now supplies laptops to every student so this new term I'm going to have every student apply the techniques I cover during the lecture to create their own unique drum pattern using the software on their laptop right in class to break up the lecture and keep them engaged.
Hi Shannon,
Love the idea! This is a good way to help students retain information. This sounds look fun as well. Students love having fun while learning.
Patricia Scales
Hi Molly,
What great use of visual learning. Students love hands-on learning, and they also love it even more when visual is involved. I visualized the land, fence posts, and house made out of the different things. Even adult learners enjoy active learning.
Patricia Scales
Hi Carolyn,
Great active learning exercise. Students are really engaged and excited when they are involved in active learning.
Patricia Scales
I currently teach a class called Medical Office Administration in which the students learn a lot of administrative skills. The content is pretty straightforward and not much fun. I started incorporating some hands-on activities outside of the competencies they are required to complete for each chapter. The day before an exam, I split the class up into groups of two or three, depending on the number of students present for review. I give each group a small dry erase board. I ask the class questions regarding specific topics within the chapter and they put their heads together and write down a response to my question. The next day, when the students take their exam, they seem less apprehensive about test-taking. I will do the activity with the white boards halfway through each chapter also so they keep the information fresh in their minds.
When teaching anatomy/physiology, I have students listen to short lecture and then act out the body function. In example, for muscle contraction, everyone plays a role: Muscle body, calcium, neuromuscular junction, etc. They portray all parts of the process in order, each one explaining their body part and its effect on the process as a whole. Most time we need to move tables and chairs aside to have the room to act out these processes. Wakes them up!
Hi Gwendolyn,
Students love jeopardy, and they tend to do well on the test from this type of review because they retain the information through having fun with the game.
Patricia Scales
Hi Earl,
Implement these hands-on activities. The students will enjoy them.
Patricia Scales
Hi Jennifer,
Great strategy and this gives the students ownership in the course as well. We know that students should get at least six questions right on the test because they came up with at least six questions.
Patricia Scales
I do a Jeopardy-style review of the material before they take a test. Usually I split the class into two groups--each group has a captain. I notice that the groups become more focus and interactive when competing against one another. This is an active way for students to recall information about the topic and better prepare them for their test.
During my career development class, I lecture on what a scotoma is. To help students be more of an active learner, I could employ the following:
1. have students do small group work on writing down their understanding of a scotoma
2. Have students share their personal scotomas
3. Have students do small group work in helping each other identify their scotomas
