Hi Judy,
Good strategy because with variety you increase the attention and engagement of your students. Also, with variety you get to use your creativity since you are looking for different ways to present the content. A win win for everyone.
Gary
I have also tried the Jeopardy game in classes with no hands-on labs. It seems to break up the monotony of lecture. It brings some students out that don't normally answer questions. I try not to call on names unless the students seem confident enough not to mind.
I always try to approach all my lessons using as many different approaches as possible. The more ways I can show, demonstrate, explain, or give visuals the more ways that I can hopefully reach all of my students.
I use a variety of teaching techniques to accommodate the learning preferences. I encorporate visual, and practical application to my lectures.
Hi Allison,
Good point. Time is too short to spend it doing rote tasks that have little or no value in the grand scheme of things. Relevancy needs to be a part of the planning process when selecting tasks for students to complete.
Gary
I often see teachers who do "busy work" in order to fill time. I believe that students are more willing to do work if they feel it is relevant to what they are learning.
Students do not mind extra work when they feel as though they are learning something new or reinforcing concepts already taught within the class.
I like to use group activities and presentations to vary the activities amongst students and make it more fun. Also, this breaks the monotony of lectures.
Hi Mark,
Teach backs are a good way to reinforce what has been taught as well as develop confidence with students as they get to share their newly acquired knowledge. This helps them to realize that they really do know this material and can share it with others.
Gary
I encourage my students to engage all the senses in learning. I assign reading prior to class, I hand out note outlines to make it easier to follow and take notes as I lecture. If possible, I use power points or a short DVD. I find if the DVD is too long, they lose interest. I also write out lists or draw diagrams on the board to highlight important points. I try to design assignments and quizzes which vary in style to engage different learning types.
I recommend they study by using all the senses, reading, writing, copying, drawing, teaming up with fellow classmates to quiz each other for the verbal part.
During lectures I pause to ask questions to reinforce subject matter and to tie into previous lectures as a way to reinforce and review.
Some of my classes have a practical lab section, which satisfies the hands-on needs of the tactile learners.
Recently I have been researching and attempting to implement whole brain teaching (learning) into the my adult classrooms. This hasn't been as successful because the activities have been developed for a much younger audience.
However, I do enforce teach backs. I will have the objectives and goals set out and and list the main points. I tell the students I will have a teachback session at the end of the lecture. Then I divide the class into two's and ask them to teach not back to the entire class (as this makes a lot of the students unsetteled) but teach back the mainpoints to their peer. Then switch.
I have found that most students in massage therapy tend to be visual and tactile learners which makes my instruction easier to cover. We do a lot of hands on instruction/demonstration and power points help during lecture.
Continually reviewing my course content helps maintain relevancy and applicability. By doing so, I am able to make any adjustments necessary to help maximize my students learning needs.
I like mixing my learning-delivery method to take into consideration the different learning styles of my students. Although I apply a combination of the teaching delivery, I tend to do more of the problem-based learning. With this type of teaching-method strategy, I can incorporate practical experiences, mini-lecture, and the problem itself to solve.
Hi Dennis,
Sounds like your class is both interesting and dynamic. Way to go in bringing real life experiences and supporting media into the classroom. This keeps your content alive and the student engaged.
Gary
I share some past experiences I have had, when I did mental health therapy/counseling. This opens up discussions about psychology, as it pertains to the students' lives, i.e., everyone knows someone, or has had firsthand experience with some aspect of the psychological realm, e.g., as a parent (child developmental stages/issues), stress (what college student, especially a non-traditional student, has not experienced stress to varying degrees), learning (how to improve study skills, etc.), and so forth. I also like to show mini-videos, and use activities...most from the instructor's resource guide...to stimulate small group, as well as large class discussions.
Hi Eric,
Good strategy. You have to have some flexibility on your instructional plans or you will get frustrated when things don't go as planned. Your frustration then spreads to the students and before long no one is happy so make changes as needed and keep the students informed about them.
Gary
I usually adapt as the course progresses, after getting a feel for the needs of the class. More lecture, lab, activities, etc.
Hi Erin-
I also teach a Intro to Psych course, and- as I replied to another student's post- I occasionally talk about one of my past cases (I used to do mental health therapy/counseling). It makes for lots of Q&A's, as well as students, talking about their own situations, e.g., someone they know, etc. Brings home the specific issue that we're talking about. Keep up the good work
By using power points and examples of how it applies to the real world.
Hi Marjorie,
Good strategy. This way you are helping the students to see the relevancy of what you are teaching along with the application as a result of your sharing your own experiences. This connecting of the dots between school and the work world is very important for the students to understand early in their student careers.
Gary
