Problem Based Learning
Sometime I use problem based learning built on a previous class knowledge that the students demonstrated they learned.Using a class in demo breaking down a chicken(cutting up the chicken into a certian amount of sections).
The students are shown how to do the task and then asked to preform it.In the next class I will ask the students to break down a rock cornish hen using the same techinque that the learned in the previous class.This way the student can adopt previous aquired problem solving knowledge to the present task. I belive an organization uses the saying "adopt, improvise and overcome" so do I and the results are good.
Collin,
The strategy I use in such situations is to present a key concept or principle and then reinforce it with an example or activity. This way they get to think about the newly presented concept or principle and then reinforce their thinking through application. I select the concepts or principles so that I am building a sequence of concepts or principles that help the students to scaffold their learning. Hopefully this will work with your content area.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Like many college professors I didn't come from the education sector but from the professional one. I work with audio recording and, in the process of reading and thinking about case studies, realize that they require a good amount of previous knowledge and experience - making them great for advanced classes but less helpful for introductory courses.
For the more introductory courses can you recommend a procedure for identifying/selecting useful yet bite-sized application exercises? I want to bring more hands-on and interactive items to the class but find it difficult when even performing the simplest task requires knowledge of several different systems. Thanks!
Robert,
Good strategy. I use case studies a lot in my classes and my students really like working through them. They get to apply their newly acquired knowledge in a realistic way and that reinforces their motivation in their course and illustrates the value of the content being shared.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
