Hi Terry,
The ability to work with others is essential as you well know but sometimes is forgotten by students. Your use of the groups and student interaction is going to be of great help to them as they enter the field. Keep up the good work.
Gary
Each student is different, you have fast learners, slow learners,you put in more time with one than the other.I will take a fast excellerated student and let that student help a slower student, works good.
Understanding learner characteristics helps the instructor tailor the course to the level of the students. If we make the course too hard for the learners then they will give up or fail. If we make it too easy then they won't be challenged and will be frustrated. By making the course appropriate for the current students we are able to help them maximize their learning experience.
The understanding of learner characteristics helps in the instructional planning process by providing the instuctor with information in which a course or class can be developed to appeal to a variety of students and still addresses the outcomes of the class or course
Understanding student characteristics can help with my daily planning. My students range from just out of high school, to millitary experience, to very experianced in the work place. We use a pretest to see where they stand mechanicly. I also get to know a little about each student on the first day by havig an open intoduction. I tell them a little about myself. then get them to do the same.
Using check lists, student surveys, and other devices are certainly good ways to help with understanding learning characteristics in students, but when you consider fear to be a fundamental issue with adult learners, then trust must play an important role. You must gain your students trust. I try to be thorough and clear in my expectations and will ultimately set them up for success, even if failure is an outcome it is important for the instructor to translate that failure into a success by showing or demonstrating what steps could have been taken or avoided to have a successful completion of the task at hand.
By understanding students differences I as an instructor can facilitate the information so all my students comprehend the information. We are knowledgeable in our area of expertise but getting that information to our various students is the main challenge. A mixture of teaching and learning strategies need to be employed for my success as a teacher and the students success as a student and their progress to becoming professional adults in the work force. I have to plan around the various obstacles to reach each and every student and with further knowledge of these barriers I will be a more effective facilitator and instructor.
We have a students whose age varies from 18 to new students in their 60s so we must adjust our projects and lessons to help our older students get back into the flow of learning and to gain some self confidence.
We try to pay special attention to those who do not chatch on so quick by having them work in groups and make it clear that they should work together, just like in the feild
Hi Jerry,
This is where you are using the resources that you have available your students. By them helping each other they are learning how to work with others and reinforcing the skills they are learning.
Gary
I have students that are execp. with class wk. but are not good in lab so you spend more time with them in lab, normally they catch on.The ones that are better in lab than tests have to be tutored and this usually works for both.
Hi Donald,
Good examples of how you are reading the needs of your students. This is what makes good teachers. Being able to adapt your presentation style and content to the needs of your students is what it is all about.
Gary
With older experienced students I can use thier career experiences in my class for the younger students to see how my class fits into thier learning goals. I myself learn from the older students also to help me prepare for future classes. I have learned that with some classes I must go much slower or deeper in some areas because of the lack of previous classes the class has had.
Hi Joe,
What methods do you use to determine the learning styles of your students?
Gary
If you know what type of learners you have in your class it allows you to teach to the learning styles that the student responds best to. Example: Visual learning, audio, hands on can all be part of the way you present the material in your class and taylor the subject to there needs.
Hi David,
Good point about how to keep students focused at the end of their program. Instructors of these students need to work hard at keeping them engaged in activities that will keep them interested. Always a challenge but one that can be fun for a instructor as it requires some creativity and problem solving in coming up with appropriate activities.
Gary
Hi Kevin,
You are right about the challenges of meeting the needs of thirty or more students. By offering variety in instructional delivery and different grouping of students you will be able to do this more efficiently. A suggestion would be to use your students as learning helpers through the pairing of them with other students as you progress through the course. I have found that students like to share and work with each other when given the opportunity.
Gary
Hi Judy,
You make a good point about being able to meet the needs of diverse learners. That is what customizing education is all about. Meeting the standards of the career while meeting the needs of the learners.
Gary
I have found that there are some students that are there to ready themselves for the work force, since most of my classes are at the end of program. However some students look at the classes as they are ready to graduate and are not as focused on the assignments. It takes more of my time with these later studends to get and keep them fucused.
I absolutely agree with you. What I try to do is to plan my material to accommodate all of the learning styles. Like you say, this is challenging, especially in the general education classes.
