An idea
Thinking about getting students motivated and involved in class, I thought having mini lectures and having students write down their questions. After the mini lecture, having the questions be more of a class discussion for everyone to learn further which will assist in critical thinking. Is there a way to somehow get everyone to participate especially the ones that are not as motivated in this type of activity?
Steven,
It is amazing what these types of devices can do in terms of student engagement and learning. The more they can use these tools the more knowledge they will be able to acquire as they move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the tools we started using at our school is electronic curriculum on a tablet with interactive capabilities. It has warmly received by some students others still like text book style learing. As far as using it for instruction it has changed the way I teach it is great to have on demand examples and the interactive enhancements.
I have also use this technique of mini lectures that students give on tricks and techniques used in the software program used in the class. It's a great idea!
I'm just coming to learn how powerful a tool this is. Recognizing this is also a way to engage them in group study, I think this gives them a chance to work with unfamiliar members of a team and prepares them for real life situations outside of school.
Carlos,
I use this method frequently in my classes as well. I like you really like the results I get because small groups help to draw input from all students even those that are shy. Also as you know some great discussions can come out of these sessions.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like the idea of small groups so within my lecture I pick several important points that I want stressed for learning. These points I assign to the different small groups. This is opportunity for the members within the group to research, discover and clarify their thoughts on the particular point. Each group must then present and demonstrate their understanding of the point to the other small groups.
Deana,
This is really a great idea. I have quite a bit of students whom I feel will accelerate with this type of activity. Thank you!
Hello Deanna,
That sounds like a really interesting idea. One of the concepts that I have initiated in my class is to include technologies that they understand. Using academic networking tools like wikis for collaborative work has helped students to understand the material, simply because they are excited about using the tool. In addition, I have found that students enjoy communicating through other media sources besides email, like mobile devices to have a quicker response time to questions. What are your thoughts on using technology to assist in student retention?
Chloe,
There is a saying that goes "to teach is to learn twice, once as a student and again as the teacher". I have found just as you have that the students retain a lot more content when they have to research and then present a topic to the class. This is a very effective learning tool that benefits everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I sometimes have students give mini lectures on new 3d modeling tools or methods they have found that helped them. Seems to work pretty good.
Judd,
I use this format as well for the reasons you list. The results are great for everyone and it helps to set a tone in the class of cooperative learning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I really like this idea,I split the group in to groups which I pick and try to get students out of the normal "clic" they get into and get some of the quieter students to interact with the more outgoing ones. This helps make them more comfortable and in the end they seem to help everyone in the class.
Thank you for the great idea.
Deanna,
Something I do is to break the class into small learning groups. Then I have them as a group come up with some questions coming out of the mini lecture. As we go around the room and call on the small group each student in the group asks a question. By putting them into small groups my shy students are given some time as well as discussion ideas to help them formulate questions that can be asked. Announce at the beginning of the Q&A session that everyone will be called upon to ask at least one question so the stage is set for the involvement of all students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
