Understanding your students characteristics is one of the greatest tool a instructor can use when planning how they are going to instruct the student.
In order to have the students attention, you need to provide information that will peak their interest. Peaking the learners interest maybe accomplished by power points, team roles, some lecture and some project. Whatever the students needs to learn as an instructor you should be able to adapt. I understand that you may not be able to capture everyone in the class, but I am sure if you change your learning process throughout the semester you should be able to touch on a learning skill for each student.
KENNETH,
This is a common theme for many students. Being a tactile learning helps with the integration of cognitive processing so the more instructors can provide multiple ways to take in content the better. You have a good start with your approach.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
hi
I have had students state that they had problems learning from reading and lecture teaching methods. The student stated that they learned easier from a tactile method of demonstrations and hands on experiences.
Omolola,
You have a very comprehensive plan for your instructional delivery. The results I know are that you are reaching the different learning preferences of your students throughout the duration of the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Instructions should be designed to promote students’ learning. Students’ learning styles vary and may be auditory, visual, tactile, or kinesthetic. I try to understand my students’ preferred learning styles so as to adequately plan the delivery of the contents to impart. I, therefore, utilize a combination of teaching methods. I lecture, encourage collaborative class discussions, group exercises, and student research projects. I ensure adequate provision of visual aids in my classes. I use PowerPoint presentations, costume slides, and themes to depict the subject matter clearly. I believe that others learn better through repetition. I ensure full recap of previous lessons at the beginning of each class session. I also summarize my lectures fully and I encourage interactive discussions. I found out that the students who attended the evening classes enjoyed group discussions where they were able to share their experiences.
On the first day of class I have the students introduce themselves and disclose what skills they bring with them.
Every student has a different goal and understanding that goal will make you understand the student as well you will understand the students character.
Understanding learner characteristics yields a more student-centric classroom experience. This has positive benefits in student retention and student outcomes.
The use of an ice-breaker at the start of every new course is an excellent way to get students to learn about each other, and to reveal learner characteristics. A large number of different ice-breakers are available, and there is also an iPad app of the same name with a selection of them available at your fingertips.
I think it is important to understand the purpose of learning the characteristics of a student
You must know your audience in order to produce a product they want.
By understanding who your student are you can better plan how you are going to present the subject matter. I teach both day and night class, I have to approach the same class different during the day then at night. Different student and they are motivated differently. Example the night student seems more focused on their goals and wants to change their career path. They are self motivated to complete the work. They pick my knowledge, and display a want to succeed within the field of study. I have to find why to motive day students and show them how they can succeed in life. Understanding the demographic from which my student come from help me motivate my students.
Nick
The first day of class I like to do an icebreaker to have each student participate. They tell their name and something about them and what brought them to this subject. It is a good way to learn names and something about the student.
Laura,
It is through your efforts that you have started the respect development needed for next step which is establishing rapport. When respect is earned and rapport developed then students are on a level that makes learning enjoyable and teaching a lot of fun.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Leah,
Right you are because this way you can customize your approach to provide the support that is needed by your students. The results will be increased student success and satisfaction.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
It is very important to know my students before we actually start class. I try to meet with each student before the official start. I want to know the reason the student enrolled, what he or she expects to achieve upon graduation and identify what obstacles are present. We discuss daycare and transportation issues. This brief interaction helps me to know and understand my student.
By understanding learning characteristics, We teach in a way that allows the student to retain the information.
understanding our students will help us better to teach and enable them to retain what is being taught. This will make them successful in their career
When we understand our students better it helps us better instruct them and they will be able to retain information that they need in their chosen field.
James,
Something I do is to have them write their short and long term goals down. I use 3X5 cards. I collect them and then some where around 1/3 to 1/2 way through the course I bring the cards back to class and we revisit them. I have the students write their short and long term goals again based on what they have learned so far in the course. I find this second go at goals is much better because the students have learned more about their field via the course as well as they have grown in understanding about how to set goals for themselves. I collect the cards and then bring them back to class at the end and we visit the goals one more time. It is at this point the goals start to really take on meaning for the students and they are much more realistic.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When asking adults for their short and long term goals, I often get unrealistic replies. Younger students often reply that they are unsure of what they want to accomplish. How do you think I should address these replies?
