Hi Roberto,
Good examples of how you can keep students engaged in the learning process, while giving them opportunities to relax a bit, have some fun but still use their newly acquired knowledge.
Gary
The strategy I have implemented for making a course relevant and applicable to the learning needs of students has been allowing them to play games in accordance with the subject matter. One example is the jeopardy game after lecture for it engages the entire class because the all want to be on target with their answer.
In addition, at times I will allow them to stretch out every 20 minutes and their after get involved in a different activity such as free basket ball shots for those who answer questions awarding them with some type of lab participation points as long as is kept within company's guide lines.
Hi Ralf,
By using this activity you are learning more about what has brought your students to the class. This increased knowledge will help you as you not only plan for the class but will help you to establish rapport with your students as well.
Gary
During the introductory phase of the class, I encourage the students to participate by having them discuss what they expect to gain from the course. This, in addition to individual introductions can help me focus on where to concentrate in my instructional efforts, while adhering to the objectives of the course.
I try to relate what the students are learning to situations that they will encounter in thier career on a regular basis. I teach techniques with the equipment that they are learning on in the classromm that directly relate to how they would do it in the field.
I have issued a quiz along with survey of the student expections and goals for the class.
It is very important to find out the level of understanding the class has on the subject, this will give you an idea on where to start.
Dr. Meers,
Strategies may take many forms. There are times that the basic facts are enough to make the course material stand out as vital to their personal success. Sometimes a threat of career failure or legal liability can punctuate a topic.
I like to draw from personal experiences that are germane to the subject. I have seen many mistakes made and use the concequences and remedies as training aids and "binding" tools in the classroom.
There are topics that are so overwhealming with technical information that I make them feel more adequate as learners by drawing generic similarities between systems - this is not to "dumb it down" but to make them masters of the principle theories instead of a failure on details.
Do you have any suggestions?
Dr. Meers:
The best way is to use current events along with the book to bring the material current.
I also incorporate the material to the student lives. For example, explaining that law is everywhere in their day from the moment they get in the car, to the decisions they make to sign a credit card slip.
Prof Ferber
By implementing the learning styles of the students.
I find that when you are teaching to students, there is a need to bring past lessons of life to the class room. This helps with text book lessons also.
Imput from our prospective employers makes sure that what we are teaching is always relevant and upto date. The instructors here also draw from their back grounds, real life stories, to illistrate relevance. We also allow recent graduates to share what they encountered on the job with the students.
I insure that up to date rules and regulations, of the governing authority, are reflected in my lectures and handouts.
I have the students introduce themselves stating their academic background, and what they hope to achieve from the class.
I agree you must keep your training up to date try to learn about new technologies that are relevant in the courses that we teach.
Training aids and lifes personal experience. The entire group starts out in the skills labs where they see videos and then practice hand-onwitn each other or a mannequin. They are expected to read the chapters that coordinate with each weeks practice and the theory portion coordinates as well. Once clinical starts they are broken down in group of 10 to go to the clinical site where they actually start patient care and start to perform some of the things they learned in skills lab.
This is why skills lab is so crucial but very little attention is given to it by some. They believe they should be given hand outs and spoon fed because they pay a large amt of money for tuition.
Since I am teaching science subjects, I use PBL for most of the time. It is simple, puts the learning responsibility in students' hands, and makes learning more enjoyable.
I instruct to all learning styles. Open with a class discussion, then use powerpoints, followed by a case-study/hand-on activity.
It is important to get a baseline need before attempting instruction.
Formal or informal assessments have aided me in providing meaningful instruction. Learners spend too much money on their education for it not to be worthwhile.
the course I teach most is more advanced, and commonly known by the students as one of the hardest courses in the school. I try to have plenty of parts in the classroom, that I can pass around to students, and try to break down lectures into areas which they can easily understand.
