As an anatomy and physiology instructor, its usually difficult to gets very hands on, however we have models now that can be dismantled and the students can fix them up picking each organ out in each system and then we talk about them. I have heard of a few class opening up the heart of a pig...
This is probably the hardest group to reach in my English grammar, composition, and literature classes. One lesson that works is the process essay, which involves having them translate what they know how to do with their hands into a written format. Another is getting them up and out of their chairs and drawing on the white board. But so many of my objectives are geared to either writing or reading that the only way I reach hands-on learners is to have them imagine prying apart blocks of words or wiping out this prepositional phrase. It's a lot easier for me, however, than it is for them since most of my students are geared to the meaning of the words, not the structure. Getting kinesthetic learners to see words as chunks of info that they can build/tear apart/manipulate is a challenge.
Demostrating a scenario often grabs the attention in the classroom. Also powerpoint presentations and hand-outs
Hi Paul, Thanks for your post to the forum. I do have students question why those general education skills are necessary. Employers tell us that they are essential! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Ellen - Lecture immediately followed by skill application is ideal! Susan
Susan Polick
As mentioned in the training ...the skills that most general education programs hope to develop are: Critical thinking; Writing skills; Oral communications; Problem solving; Ethical reasoning and Values and attitudes. NOTHING can be more true for a Criminal Justice students than to have proficiency in all of these areas especially in the last two.
using manipulatives. Using the equipment that they are learning about. After lecture on vital signs, having students practice taking temperature, pulse and blood pressure on one another.
After presenting instructions and showing a video which shows the technique for taking blood pressure, my students then practice on each other with stethoscope and bp cuff. My teaching stethoscope allows me to check their results for accuracy during this 'hands on' practice. Most students have some kinesthetic learning needs especially for tasks which require familiaritiy with equipmpment.
Hi Dan, Thanks for a very insightful post. I also teach Humanities courses for a Creer College and have the same concerns. In tend to use activities like interviewing for a Psych class or planning for a debate in an Ethics class. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Hi Donna, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are so obviously attuned to the needs of your students. Great work! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Of course, the answer to this question depends largely on the material being covered. As I teach mostly English classes, I'll keep my comments confined to that area.
I suspect I'm expected to say something like: have students act out the story they've read. Or: have students take notes in the margins of a text. Or: have students stand when they speak. I had an instructor in college that insisted on yoga and stretching as a teaching method.
That's fine for a liberal arts college (not pejorative, as that's where my own roots are), but there's a distinctly different audience at a Career College, I think. There's a discernible priority on "usefulness." The danger, I think, especially in kinesthetic techniques is that they more than others have the potential to become nebulous and tangential.
Now, of course, there are ways to combat this appearance, and, largely the success of any class activity depends upon the instructor's ability to drive that activity in a meaningful way.
This is a good idea. I usually do the demo and send students and instructors to work on technique in groups. Do you know which students you can select? Do you avoid selecting the ones who are shy? Can this generate indifference to the ones being selected to demonstrate? I understand your reasoning for the initial need to use students to demonstrate but my questions are true to heart for students. I suppose I'm thinking as a "devils advocate" now trying to make sure I wouldn't cause undue trivia by selecting one student over another. (I work in a predominantly all female profession)
Several posts mention the didactic aspect in sequence with the lab which is held at a later time. This divided opportunity allows for all learning styles but can be confusing to another when it isn't "their turn." Therefore, I have found it helpful to have step by step instructions with pictures and words for demonstrations as well as minimial demonstrations, models, or visuals for the classroom. Students appreciate the effort because they know I am trying to reach each different style. I encourage students to relay to me when they grasp an idea or concept and I log (mentally & physically) their progress both positive and negative.
These learners learn more in the lab, so I will work hands on with these types of students.
Hi Michelle, Thanks for sharing some really creative ideas to use with the social sciences. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
I believe instructional approaches is by demonstrating how to perform a specific movement or perform a specific task and then have the student to watch and then do it themselves afterwards so they can get the feeling of accomplishment and/or provide appropriate feedback instead of just watching and assuming. No one can give feedback unless they do the task themselves and be able to articulate how they feel afterwards or give suggestions.
Hands on approaches are difficult to think of in my social science classes because we don't always have a physical way to represent theoretical concepts. I do have some activities I enjoy using to discuss issues of race, ethnicity, and stereotypes.
I have the students line up in the hallway and I divide them according to arbitrary features -- eye color, shoe size, hair length -- and then tell them who is getting an A and who is getting an F based on those traits. I have the students rank the class on different things they think up as well. The point here is that race is simply an arbitrary cultural construct.
I also have an activity where I assign stereotypical traits to students by placing stickers on their backs with words like "dirty", "lazy", "smart", "pretty", etc. I then have student interact (sometimes during class and into a break and back into class again) with one another based on those traits. The goal is to see if the student can guess their trait, but also to see how they feel about treating other people purposefully different. This one also has a great impact on their thinking.
Hi Lima, Thanks for your post to the forum.I also really like to use simulations, role plays and also case studies. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
Kinesthetic learners are tactile learners. They learn best by doing. Instruction approaches should include activities that engage them in manipulating items that physically involve them in the learning process. Other methods that may be used include simulations and role plays.
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for your post to the forum. I like your progressive essay idea - great way to get some class interaction! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Susan Polick
