Sandra,
Offering different deliveries of content help to target the different learning styles and preferences of students. You are right on with your comments about the value of making these types of adjustments to the delivery process.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
If you don't offer a variety of deliverly methods, you will lose deliverty methds, some students in the class wiil not learn the lesson.
This increases student interest in the class, as repetitive lectures can be monotonous and boring. Varied delivery methods helps to improve student concentration during the class.
Students have different styles of learning and learn in different ways. If an instructor did not offer a variety of deliveries, surely there will be students left out and not learning. It is important to offer different methods in order to maximize the opportunity for all students to learn.
Because the instructor is continually shifting, the students doin't have time to be bored.
Instructor,
Our students learn differently from one another, and from ourselves. We need to speak to them on their level, in their method of learning.
Even when I teach accounting-- a traditionally lectured topic-- I use a SmartBoard, Jeporadylabs.com, polleverywhere.com, and any other technology I can! This generation of learners and young professionals has a love for technology. They see things in a video world. We need to embrace their style and engage them in their language.
We should also work hard to give students opportunities to work with their hands. Learning by doing is a critical component to some students overall success.
Kelly Jo
Differing delivery methods are crucial to targeting the learning styles of all of the students. Thankfully my program forces the differing instructional methods to be used. I tend to present the same information in a variety of styles including hands-on, lecture and problem solving assignments. Focusing on delivering the content in a variety of methods helps to keeps the class energized and motivated.
Karen,
Thanks for the kind words about this course. Keep doing what you are doing and that is looking for ideas and applications that you can integrate into your own instructional style.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Eric,
Good points about tactile learning. It seems to integrate itself into the other learning preferences since so much of what we do involves application and skill development.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I have a diverse group of students that have to learn the technical information of the process before they can do the hand on portion of the process. I have students that want lecture time and those that don't learn anything from a lecture. I'm always looking for new methods to use with my students. I have gained a few new ideas from reading the blogs from this class. Thanks, Karen
It is important to have different instructional methods due to the fact of people have different styles of learning. It is good to use different styles just to keep the interest of the students, and it helps with the motivation of the students learning.
A variety of instructional delivery will hopefully cover different learning styles or skills. I believe that most students are subconsciously award of how they learn. I've noticed that during a lecture phase some students write, listen intently, or will read. Lectures cover three learning styles (maybe why they are still so popular). Tactile learning, which is most important for my field of instruction, is that act of feeling,working and completing the instructional task. It may not be everyone's style, but it is by far the most important.
It is very important to offer varied instructional delivery because no two people learn the same, in a single class setting you have a wide range of learning styles. In my years of teaching i have found that most females learn well by listening and having visaul aids while most men learn best by Tactile methods, they learn by doing the task at hand although in any given situation i try to incorporate all three to accommodate all learning styles.
Because students have different ways in which the absorb and apply information and techniques. Also, it keeps the content and course from becoming stagnant and challenges students of all learning types to try something new (a challenge).
Ted,
So true and a clear way to enhance student learning and engagement.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Gayle,
Good use of personal experiences to reflect how you are going to structure your own classes.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
It helps keep the attention of different students with different learning abilities. Plus lecture tends to be the more difficult way, thus keeping it short and following up with a different style will be more effective.
I feel it is important to offer a variety of instructional methods because it makes the class more fun and exciting. It keeps the students more engaged and does not allow them to get bored and unfocused. It also allows you as an instructor to make sure that you can relate to each students learning abilities, whether it is audible, visual or tactile, etc. it allows the material you are teaching to get across to each student.
I know that I even tend to zone out if someone just lectures at me for long periods...no matter how interesting the subject. So by varying the way the material is delivered, it resets your focus.
The students learn in different ways. I found that some of the students enjoy working with abstract concepts - these are the ones that enjoy lectures, ask questions during the lecture; some learn from discussions - we need to engage them in directed discussions; some learn better through exercise, individual or group - for these our delivery needs to contain time for practice.
