Getting all my students on the same page while having to move forward
I'm new in the instructional field and I'm having to learn to keep my pace slower because of some (not all) students not catching all the details involved with the subject at hand.
I am also experiencing what I call the "timid" class, where no one wants to take a chance a speak out.
Sometimes it is very difficult to know or see if my students are actually understanding the subject matter.
Where I am becoming concerned is the fact that as a class, we have to move forward to get everything into our class time.
Some of the material I am teaching on has to do with safety for not only the individual but for many others that might be involved on a site.
My question is: How do I go about checking to see if everyone is actually understanding, before test time?
I find it is very important to insure that the students (all of the students) have grasped the subject matter. Often, the students will appear voiceless and just stare at you if you ask if they all understood the listen before moving on.
I engage discussion of the subject by asking a question about the lesson that I had mentioned earlier and engage in discussion. I also will remind the students that it is OK to say when you do not know, because this is the place to learn. Learning does not come by knowing but by accepting the fact that you do not know and are willing to learn. So upon completion of a lesson and before moving on to the next lesson, I will ask the class "Is there anyone who does not know?" That way, I cannot mistake silence for affirmation that the class, the entire class, understood.
have a class discussion and include everyone and make them participate. ask the same question in a different way and look for the same answer.
Hi Cherie,
Attached is a Jeopardy Game format that you can use. All you have to do is insert your questions and answers. This is a PowerPoint format so it works just like the real game. Have fun with it.
Gary
Family Feud sounds great and timely because I am trying to think of ways to have my students learn more through games. Does anyone else have some game templates that could get them motivated?
Thanks
Hi Greg,
Great idea! Students really like to play games where they get a chance to use their newly acquired knowledge plus be a little competitive with each other. Thanks for sharing. I have also that by putting the students into groups I get full participation from all students, even those that are shy. They get caught up in the excitement of wanting to get points for their team.
Gary
Hi Timothy,
Glad to hear the contents of the modules are going to be of help to you. That is the great thing about teaching we get to share with others our experiences and hope they can benefit from them.
Keep up the good work, I know you are going to continue to have a great time as an instructor.
Gary
I did develope a game that is base off of the TV game show "Family Feud". on the first attempt to use this in the class as a review of what they had learned up to a point I had 4 different questions that had from 6 to 8 replys. I set the game up with two teams and play it the same way as Family Feud. Each correct answer was worth so many points and the team that had the most points at the end I had a small prize for each student on the team. The students loved it and wished I had more questions to keep going. I was writing everything on the board as they answered. But now I am working on a power point that will work as it does on the TV show. Students felt it was a big help and a great review. Greg
Thank you Dr. Meers!
I will get with our other instructors to put a type of pretest together, and ask them to also keep an eye on their classes comprehension.
We have a quiz every week to two weeks, and sometimes their is so much material to cover I'm not positive that my students are keeping up.
I like the team idea, because in the field my students are learning about, we work in teams every time we go out to do a job, and it is always better to have team effort than for one to take on a situation by oneself.
Not to mention that it is very dangerous for one person to try and do things alone.
This works as at least a two fold helpful hint!
I can see where my students are with comprehension
and get them into thinking about team effort as they get out into the real world situations.
Thank You!
Thank you for the insight!
I will start this procedure today, as we are a little over the half way point in this class.
As most instructors probably encounter, I have those who are very attentive in class (I will call them the leaders)then I have a few that had rather be somewhere else and possibly are in their minds.
In the class I am teaching, we deal with electricity, and heavy objects that need to be treated with care, but my main concern is for the safety of my students, and the people that might be working with these students some day.
Thank you, I like the approach!
I find that if that after I demonstrate a safety procedure that if I require a random student from the group to demonstrate the same procedure that the students tend to get it better. It works very well if it is so random that they believe they might be the next one to be chosen to perform a demonstration. I have found that this works well if time permits. If you have a sleeper and you pick them out it tends to give them a wake up call.
Hi Timothy,
There are several ways of doing a pretest check for comprehension. One is to create a game quiz format and have student groups compete with each other. These teams will help the most timid of the group get involved in trying to help their team win.
Another is to give a structured outline of the key points that the students need to know. The student fill in these points as best as they can. You will quickly get a feel for the knowledge base of the students from this quick exercise.
Gary
