I am also a new instructor. I see the students as individuals and watch their reactions to lecture and Lab skills. I try to interact in conversation regarding power point material to asses their understanding. I try to relate the situation to an everyday situation that they themselves might find themselves in. I use diagrams and drawings to bring clarity, and try to have physical examples relating to the topics whenever possible.
By understanding the learner, their special needs, life experiences, and world view, the instructor is better prepared to teach in a way that will have a positive impact in the classroom.
Understanding each learner for who they are and how they learn will allow you to plan the instruction for each individual in mind versus a method that every student fits within a certain box.
It will help the faculty understand how to base their curriculum, their pace in the classroom, even examples used in the lessons in order to acheive success.
With the diverse backgrounds of the students in the classroom is where the challenge of teaching is, but is where the instructor shines the most being able to communicate with them
Hi Mary,
Well said. Thank you for sharing this list with use. There are a number of very good strategies listed here.
Gary
By designing instructional activities that are fitted to those characteristics and will engage the learner in them
It give us a better insite of the student progress path of the specific subject.
I think this is it! Every student has their own approach to learner and how they respond. I think we can have the approach each student needs and really allow them to thrive in their learning. When I think of my approach, I plan for all types and keep it moving and changing. I use a lot of humor to gain interaction. I think understanding learner characteristics is crucial for a successful classroom.
Hi Jasmine,
There are four major areas or preferences that students take in new information through. Written word, visualization, auditory, and tactile. Plan your delivery to cover these four areas and you will be hitting on your students' different learning preferences. This means that your students no matter their backgrounds or experiences will have opportunities to learn new content within their comfort zone (learning preference) at different times throughout the course. This way each student will have ample opportunity to be successful.
Gary
Try to remember that the old stand and lecture way of doing things are contrary to what today's students utilize for retention of information. Essentially, several of the suggestions given later in the lesson are helpful:
1. Divide students into small groups with specific problems to solve together.
2. Try to introduce material through tactile, experiential and sound/rhythm connections. For instance, when introducing Shakespeare, because Shakespeare writes in iambic-pentameter, it is easy for some of today's students to put soliloquies into "rap." Not all students will "buy into" this, but if presented carefully, some will.
3. Do word banks, crosswords, any sort of reinforcement that presents the same information in a different way.
4. Always remember, one size doesn't fit all when learning.
As a new instructor I am worried about being able to accomadate the different back grounds and expectations. Can you share some of the techniques you administer in the class room to cover all learning styles.
Each learner has unique needs and abilities, and it is the instructors responsibility to the best of his or her ability to maintain high standards and ensure that students learn what is required. Knowing learner characteristics can help instructors plan course delivery appropriately to meet the individual needs of students.
Hi Susan,
Knowing these characteristics is very important as you mention because it helps you to be able to target and customize your instruction to meet the different needs that exist in the course.
Gary
Hi Cynthia,
Thank you for these excellent remarks on how you can be successful as an older or non-traditional student. As you know many students think they are the only ones going through these stressful situations as they are trying to complete school. By knowing their instructors have gone through it and that their peers are going through it they can see that by determination and effort they can do it as well. Good example of a simple strategy for completing part of an assignment with their child "helping" by coloring their paper while you are working on your own.
Gary
Thank you, Jan, for sharing this technique for connecting with online students. I will begin my next online classes by phoning my students to help me develop personal relationships with them.
Hi Tracy,
Your guidance and application of learner characteristics to online teaching is an answer for which I have been searching. Thank you so much for this posting because it gives me ideas for improving my online teaching. I am printing out your posting to include with my "online teaching materials".
Susan
Preventing students from feeling "lost" is an extremely important function of the instructor and that instructor's preparation for the class. It is much more powerful for instructors to keep students from becoming "lost" than it is to regain them once they have felt "lost".
If the instructor has an understanding of learning characteristics, that instructor will be better able to develop the lectures and discussions so that they are appropriate for the makeup of that particular class. The understanding helps the instructor determine how much background information should be provided to the students prior to going into each topic in depth.
Yes, so true, Ulises! Students write an introduction of themselves in a discussion forum I set up, and this helps me learn their names, their interests, and work/school experiences(many times, they will discuss their "busy schedules" or fears on taking a writing course -- which helps me identify those students which may need more guidance and encouragement).
