I agree students love the clinical aspect so they have an opportunity to use hands on incorporating classroom knowledge
take aditional classes pertaining to my field which happens to be nursing in order to further develop my skills
Michael,
You have great experience to help your students as a result of your current position as well as your background as an online student. You are helping your students to see the relevancy of what they are learning.
Gary
I like to explore the students learning styles, and try to make sure that I am doing something for everyone!! There are many learning style surveys on the net.
I have developed an instructional style that is conducive for the online instructional setting. I incorporate the use of MUSE, visit website appropriate for the course topic and offer real-life workplace examples of how I was able to use my online skill set to further my advancement in the facility where I work. I emphasize that I was once an online student in this same field and use that experience to motivate students to be successful. (I am now a Director of the largest Homehealth agency in the state with over 100 million dollars in revenue per year)
Observe more experienced instructors in their classes and adopt techniques which make sense.
I really like group activities with the students. They enjoy it, it raises conversations, and students seem to learn/retain more information.
To enhance my Instructional Style I think being creative must be added. Creating my own Powerpoints that are of course cohesive with the material but give a inside of the course with my personal professional experience could aid the students and they would also have a reference to come back to.
Shirley,
Thanks for sharing this rule with us. This is a good strategy to use because it gives the students an out, but only once for that day. The rest of the time they have to be on top of things in order to ready with responses.
Gary
I also find it important to use multimedia, hands-on, text, virtual clinics, and handouts. They give the student supportive material but also real life experiences.
I tend to change up my style and think outside the box when they seem overwhelmed. I switch to a hands-on task that was maybe meant for later in the day. A technique that I would find helpful are taking more classes such as this one. I teach at a technical school and a community college so the instructional style has to change from one to the other.
The sound of silence can be an odd moment. I keep in mind the 20 second rule. Each student can invoke the "20 second rule" if I call on them to answer an question or open a line of discussion. The brain takes "naps" for about 20 seconds every so often. If I call on them and they were taking one of these "naps" they can just say "20 SECOND RULE" and I move to the next person. They can only use it once a day though. I keeps them from feeling embarrassed and it doesn't seem like a punishment.
This is so true! Every class brings students with a new set of challenges and opportunities. Listening to the students, being aware of what they perceive is the best way for them to learn, and making the necessary adaptations and accommodations to your own teaching style goes a long way in developing positive student-teacher relationships resulting in a successful class. AT the end of each class, I always take a few minutes of time to reflect on what went well and what could I improve for the next time?
I employ numerous styles of instruction. My students enjoy hands on course of study more than other methods of instruction. When I blend the hands on with the text they seem to have a better understanding of the information I am giving them.
Alexander,
I do to. A good discussion really helps the students to understand the information that is being shared. They can start to internalize the content more by talking it through with peers and sharing via discussion.
Gary
I enjoy having a class that falls into discussions. I find that it brings up more questions and also potential scenarios to further explain the topic at hand. The only issues I've had with class discussions is taking up too much class time and the questions sometimes lead to others that take the topic off course.
I find I have to really take a stronger managerial role than normal in class discussions. Does this sound correct? Is there a better way to direct the groups?
Karen,
There is no set amount of time to see if students have any questions, just go on your professional judgement. One guide you can follow is to deliver a key concept or content area then pause to see if there are any questions. To avoid the sound of crickets (which by the way is an awful sound for instructors or least it is to me) ask a question and then put the students into learning groups of 2-3 and have them discuss among themselves possible answers. Then have someone from the group report out their collective answers. This gets accountability into the answer and also gets them talking among themselves so they get the opportunity to immediately use the new information they have been given. You don't have to make a big deal of putting the students into groups, you can have them turn to the person next to them or those 2-3 people nearest to them. This way they don't have to move out of their seats and you can call them back together easily when you want them to report out and you move to the next segment.
Gary
Clinical instruction in all is a series of demonstrations. The students are so excited when the lecture and the practical come together for them.
I agree that your instructional style cannot be set in stone before the first class. You may have to change it up depending on the type of students that are in your class and their style of learning. My students are different at the University compared to the Business school. I like to be interactive with them to keep their attention. I have styles I prefer to use but I may have to come out of my box to reach them.
Jennifer,
I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I understand what you are saying about your students. I enjoy teaching these classes because the students are there to advance their careers or prepare for new ones but they still have worked all day and are tired. So it takes effort to keep them engaged for this length of time. Sounds like you have a good plan for how you are going to keep your students focused on learning throughout the evening.
Gary
