Rebecca,
If given permission to restructure your delivery format I know you are going to like the results you achieve. You are going to have engaged and motivated students as a result of the the speakers and this sets the class up to have success in a number of different ways.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I was always taught "the best way to learn a subject / skill is to teach it" (It's an old Boy Scout axiom )
The best engagement I had last term was when I could tell them about a patient who had a particular disease they were studying.
I am hoping to get to do more this term that will be engaging for my students. Last term I was locked into a delivery style (Power point) and content (someone else's) It was hard to remain animated when it was written so dry.
I am planning on at least 2 guest speakers and I will engage the 15 minute rule to change things up if my boss will let me.
I am not a podium teacher for the majority of the class session.
I spend a lot of time walking through the classroom, engaging students with questions and asking questions to spur thought.
I require students to participate in the class. This helps keep them motivated to learn and does not allow them to "tune out".
Landis
Nancy,
There is a saying that support this point. It goes "to teach is to learn twice, once as a student and again as a teacher.". By having your students involved in the delivery process they will get to learn the content in a way that reinforces it even more in their working memory banks.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Joshua Justin,
I agree because if the students see that you are interested in the material and find value in it so will they.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have found that involving the students and letting them be the instructor on a particular topic keeps their interest. If they know they might get called on they pay attention and most of them like to take control and give their input.
I feel that keeping material interesting and keeping yourself involved are good ways to keep students engaged throughout class.
I find that this is helpful, too. Giving them stories from my own career always gets their attention. I also like to use YouTube to show what I just talked about.
To help keep students engaged during lecture I become animated while trying to keep the students focused. I also present things that are real life experiences to show them what I mean. I invite questions and answer periods, to help the students learn.
Stephen,
I agree and use them a lot in my classes as well. Real world experiences help to make the content come alive and increases the value of the course to students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I find that the real world experiences keep students engaged in learning.
Maria,
Like your use of variety and change of pace with your students. By letting them work in different settings you are helping them to expand their communication skills while developing their abilities to work with others.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In language learning, it is important to vary the activities especially if students are to learn to understand sounds as well as to be able to reproduce the language orally. Going from a presentation to the whole group must lead to the students practicing the new knowledge in small groups or in pairs. In this case the class will work much like demonstrations do, where mini lectures can be relevant to correct common errors. Bringing real objects for students to make a more meaningful identification of new vocabulary can always be helpful since it will involve several senses.
Over the years, I have used many strategies that help keep students engaged. I often times like to incorporate life experience within my discussion or lecture. The students have a tendency to become overly engaged when they hear of situations that can and have happened within his or her field. I also like to incorporate group discussion. Students learn more when they can discuss various situations amongst one another. In addition, I have also found that incorporating research within the course gives students an opportunity to read and find out more information that he or she may not find in the textbook. This gives the student the opportunity for a “show and tell†moment, and he or she is amazed at how much more information they have retained by the end of the course.
Ynonnie Davis, MHAEd
David,
This is what personalized instruction should be about. By using examples from their interest areas the engagement factor is greatly increased and their focus sharpened.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In smaller classes, find out what extracurricular activities interest various students. If there's a particular student that seems to be struggling more than others, try to adapt examples to that particular student's experience and hobbies to engage their particular understanding. Using their hobbies as an example will help get them interested, but shouldn't detract too much that the other students will get lost in the process.
Ramses,
You do have a challenge with this time frame. I teach from 4 until 10 pm so I get them when they are tired from the day. Either way it takes a lot of planning and effort to make sure you have the needed content and activities to keep them engaged for the duration of the class. Your plan has the needed components. I wish you continued teaching success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach from 7:30 pm to 1:00 am and sometimes it is difficult just keeping the students awake. I like to use many visual aids in order to keep the students engaged and interested. I also like to use real life visual aids were we go out and not only see but touch what we are learning.
