I agree with you completely Deborah as it is very important to understand yours students positions in life meaning their background, expectations,and style of learning. I found that in the classroom getting to know your students is one of the most important things to do. It may not be possible to know everything about them, but to get a general understanding is very important. Being able to relate to them and their situations put them at a great level of comfort.
Ed,
So true and such an important part of our professional development. I have been teaching for many years and I continually learn new ways of being a more effective and efficient instructor. This helps me to stay excited about my teaching since I get to use new strategies each time I start a new course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The more I understand about how a student learns, the better I can do to ensure that they will understand and retain the material. I can than do a better job.
Judy,
Adult learners often approach school with a number of fears. It is easy for them to walk away from school when they encounter one of these fears, such as not feeling like they have the student skills to be successful. So by following your three items of being kind, open to students and listening you will help them to get settled into the course and finding success.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
DEBORAH,
Like your use of collaboration in your instructional efforts. Students will have to do this in the workplace so they need to learn how to work with others in diverse settings.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Understanding the anxiety of adult learners and helping them relax and feel comfortable is very important. Always be kind, have an open door policy and listen to their concerns.
It is important to consider age and cultural background of one's students, but it also necessary to consider the expectations of each generation within the classroom setting as each generation has a different set of expectations. I have found that use of collaboration on meeting objectives to be helpful.
James,
Right you are. This is where the human factor comes into play since you know their characteristics you can customize your instruction to connect with their life experiences and career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
By understanding a student learner characteristics an instructor can implement a variety of teaching strategies that can adapt to the learners specific needs.
A knowledge of Lerner Characteristics will help in deciding which teaching techniques are best to apply to help keep students invested and motivated to learn.
As instructors we need to know the signs of students not understanding a topics of discussion. The forehead scowl, the look of being lost or just shaking their heads from side to side are great signs of lost students. These ques help us to adjust our tatics when presenting a new skill the students will need in their new career field. I myself work with my students to create templates and step by step reference sheets (not cheat sheets) they can follow. This helps the students take ownership of the work they are doing. I am very hands on and am willing to go over the topic if not understood the first time as well as changing the method of presenting all together to make sure everyone understands.
Knowing what to expect and increased knowledge of learner characteristics inevitably helps instructors plan more efficiently and effectively so activities are better designed in alignment with course objectives as well as student needs.
One of the big challenges in my career college setting is for the students to put the effort required into the class. These students have families, jobs, and school so their time is precious. In addition each student has other characteristics that I look to in instructional planning. While we do the first class introductions, I learn much more about students from the discussions before and after class. I try to make create assignments that relate to various individuals while offering some choices. This has included researching specific aspects of a company of the students choice.
One way to obtain a sense of my students' motivation during first day of class is to ask them a few questions- why are you taking the course, what they expect to get out of it and what challenges they anticipate.
I do a learning styles survey and then lately I have been getting them in groups to discuss how they like to learn then they present their style to the class.
We talk about what words we hear from others that might indicate their learning preference. Examples would be: Auditory: can you repeat that or let me repeat what you said. I want to make sure I heard you correctly or Visual: Can I see or can you show me what you are talking about or can I have an example or Kinesthetic: can I try it or can I do it.
I like the idea of a card that tells me something about them. Right now I have a survey but I think I need to revise. If anyone has an example of the things they ask their students on a card I would love to hear there suggestions.
Sean,
This is why conveying information and being a learning leader is such a challenge. We need to strive to get our message across, keep our student engaged and promote their career development as we help them prepare for their chosen occupation.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is important to know how someone wants to hear something first. Tones of voices, sarcasm, humor, etc.. can all be taken in many ways. Unfortunately, you usually find this out the hard way after feelings get hurt.
I start a class by asking the students if they have any previous experience in the given subject.
I also try to encourage questions about any subject that the students do not understand.
Richard,
This make as you say a good reference source for you later on in the course when you are working with the students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree. I often have students talk about themselves in the first class. However, I did not keep that information. The card method would allow me to review it later.
