Understanding the different characteristics of my students is very beneficial. Teaching at a culinary academy, I am continuously amazed by the diversity of my students. Since they are coming from such a wide range of experiences, I have learned not generalize them as just students. Each one has their own unique abilities and learn at different paces.
It helps me because I can tailor my instructional style and materials to the unique motivational requirements of different age groups. My classes tend to have a wide range of ages, and I've found that more mature learners like to be given instructions and be left alone, knowing you're there if they need you. Less mature students often want to be kept busy and engaged. I hate this sort of generalization, but it goes through my head when I review my roster. I teach online, so all students have the same curriculum, but I can use discussion forums and projects that appeal to everyone, and I leverage the experience of those with more life experience to help others learn.
i like to whenever possible have a short one on one intro with all students and this way i find out quite a lot about their characteristics
How have you established your learner characteristics in your classroom, Lucy? Have you found any particular technique more effective in the identification process of these characteristics?
Dr. Amy Laptad
Good points, Gloria. What are some of your recommendations and techniques you have employed to identify your learner's characteristics in your classroom?
Familiarizing ourselves with whom our learners are, their educational goals, their current work/career paths and their identified learning style preferences, can help the instructor work with the learner in a more effective way. Reaching out to our learners to familiarize ourselves with each students the best we can, and learn what they need to succeed can only increase their chances of success with the more we are willing to work with them.
A few years ago I taught a group of dislocated workers keyboarding. I planned this course very carefully so that they would want to come to class and feel comfortable. As a result, I had many of the students tell me that because of my course they wanted to continue with their other courses because of the encouragement that I gave them. Having patience with students and treating everyone equally is so important.
An understanding of learner characteristics helps because we need to make sure we teach in ways that all students can understand. By varying the instructional techniques means that we can reach students with different learning styles. This is particularly important when teaching a class with a mix of traditional students and non traditional students.
It is the same as planning a menu. We look at our client for clues on how to better serve them. For example If I have a group of women that are cosmetic sales reps for lunch, I will prepare a much different menu than for a group of male construction workers.
If you understand the way your students learn you will know better how to connect and relate to them. If you are able to connect and relate to a student you get a better sense for how you should present information in a way they will understand and retain.
In my classes understanding learner characteristics is fundamental to the success of the class. I am teaching a Strategies for Success class in which there appears to be more differences than likenesses. I like to recognize and respect certain characteristics within the groups and capitalize on their strengths. For example, when I have a few stay at home moms in class who are returning to school, I usually have a discussion on what kinds of skills they have acquired which can be translated to the work world. The discussion inevitably engages the "working" students with their opinions as well. I think recognition and understanding of life experiences is key to bonding the classroom. If the understanding of characteristics is not there, the classroom may turn into a straight on lecture class, which is not the way I like to teach. Knowing characteristics of the learners really can open up the direction of the class.
At our culinary school in California we have very rigid and non bending uniform and grooming habits which lead to a variety of custom creations by our younger traditional as you say students. With the non traditional learners however, it is never a problem which underlies the dichotomy of the two demographic groups.
I think knowing the different types of learners that may be in my classes helps me tailor the coursework to them. I teach in a media arts school and the vast majority of my students are visually stimulated. Lecturing, although it is sometimes necessary, does not provide the best learning and knowledge retention for my students. It also frustrates most of them in that they need a visual presentation to help them understand the material. If they are frustrated, they do not learn and ultimately could drop out. If I did not know this about my students or did not figure that out within the first few moments of class, I would not be an effective instructor.
I agree with both of you. I am very bad at remembering names in all aspects of my life but I work very hard at remembering my students names and calling each one of them by name. I run into a large number of my "ex-students" and try to keep up with their progress in each of their classes. The teaching process for me does not stop with just the classes I happen to be teaching that session.
People learn in different ways. More than a half-dozen different types of learners have been identified, and in a classroom setting, adapting your style to reach those different strengths is critical.. (I teach at a middle-school, and recognize that some students are visual learners, some auditory, some can get a concept just be reading, etc.) Differentiation is key in that environment.
This holds true in the post-secondary level, but with another layer added: students come from very different age groups, and each has its own set(s) of circumstances:
*The just-out-of-high-school set. Some are very qualified, very motivated students, but others are still finding their way in the world, not necessarily mature or prepared enough to handle the freedoms suddenly thrust upon them. The latter maybe aren't ready for their new situations, some of which are thrust upon them simply because it's expected that right after high school comes college or tech school or whatever.
*Adults. Far removed from high school (or even college), this group comes in with two important considerations for the instructor. First, they may feel uncomfortable at first. It's been awhile, a layer of technology is now part of most courses, and they're competing against traditional students.
However, the second facet works in their favor: they are there for a reason. Adults don't choose the time, cost and workload of going back to school so they can get dates. They want jobs. they want careers. They want promotions. So they tend to be very focused once they get their feet wet.
Understanding that a class full of students means multiple learning styles and varying motivations for being there allows the instructor to modify his or her approach to each individual to address specific needs
Hi Richard,
The other part of getting to know your students is that the one on one sessions don't all have to occur the first class meeting. By chatting a bit with the students as they come in and get seated you can learn a couple of things about several of the students then during breaks you can chat with a few others, then others during work time, etc. Before long you will have talked with each student individually and gotten a snap shot of how they see themselves fitting into the course.
Gary
The instructor can better plan curriculum/lesson plans by adapting the material to fit all or most of the students and accommodating them in a way that they will get the most out of the course. There can be team assignments to include students from diverse/nontraditional backgrounds so that students can get to know each other better and feel more comfortable in the learning environment.
For the the first class I ask students to fill out a short questionnaire (a homework assignment) indicating their objectives both in the class and long-term. I find that the answers are done almost as an after thought and weren't thought through very well. It's not easy to really get to know your students without getting too personal and having one on one sessions. I'm going to start by re-doing my questionnaire to ask the questions more directly. With smaller classes maybe one-on-one sessions for about 15 minutes will work. Any thoughts?
Hi Ken,
Understanding learner characteristics helps me to prepare discussions that alleviate student fear, direct their focus on content and answer why this particular class is important to their career. The result is increased participation, motivation and retention.
Miss Kim
understanding learning characteristics helps in the planning process by being able to reach out to students on appropraite levels. Being able to keep a positive learning enviroment and keep the class moving without dwelling too much on one characteristic but yet acknowledging individuals
