Understanding Student Characteristics
visual learner, aural or Auditory learners,read/write, Kinesthetic learners who prefer learning via hands-on activities. these are some of the ways an instructor can reach his/her students. understanding there needs and meeting their cognitive capacity
Although understanding student characteristics is valuable, in that you know the possible dynamics of different students, and can work towards meeting most if not all learning styles, however, it is also helpful to work with student who indeed committed to learning.
As instructors, we assume often that all students are committed, however, we are also disappointed when students do not perform as expected, resulting in constant re-evaluation of our own techniques to determine where and if we are failing the student in meeting their learning needs, only to learn the student has not fulfilled their responsibilities (self-reflection, assigned homework, taking notes, reviewing presented material).
I feel that there are more ways for an instructor to relate to/motivate students in a brick and mortar classroom than there are online. At the same time, there are still ways that an instructor can relate better to students. Such as, change the tone of voice, making powerpoint slides more interesting and appealing, and find different ways to present material visually.
