How can we make a class more fun for adults??
With a class of different ages, I find that adults understand material more quickly. What kind of tips can you give on keeping the interest of all students?
Geneva, excellent technique. You are building bridges of learning for your students to navigate and this has proven to be a very effective technique. Another approach is the use of current events and how they relate to your subject matter. Regardless of the class, there are current events that impact or relate to just about any topic. It is simply a matter of instructors being creative in how they engage such topics with their students. Great post and I will be interested to hear from others.
James Jackson
Before I introduce the material to students, I bring up the lesson info as a discussion and helps students become comfortable with vocabulary before diving into the book and notes. Students then find it easy to relate to the vocabulary at that point!
Joan, great topic. Active learning, activities, humor and keeping the students guessing all are great tools in your toolbox to keep your students interested in your subject matter.
James Jackson
Tamara, active learning and more "real-world' type learning opportunities tend to score well on students favorite methods of learning. Thanks for sharing.
James Jackson
I teach a lab class that is hands on. We have small groups that I work with each night. At the end of the night the students are ask to fill out a survey to let us know how they feel the night went. Some nights we even play with play dough.
I find that my adult students really enjoy projects. They like the competition and like to do hands on projects from research. Since we couldn't actually post a Facebook page for their companies, we got posterboard and they made their own. They wrote out links in blue and everything. They had a blast!
I use power point and I always incorporate some kind of funny slide(s)
Fred, great point. They key here is to bring the learning materials closer to the student by ensuring they understand what is in it for them to take notice of your lesson objectives. I often use the analogy of a writing class I taught years ago and I had a student ask why it was required to take a writing class in college. According to the student, if anyone in college cannot write they did not belong in college. My comment was along the lines of an athlete and how they continually practice skills they already know. A basketball player learns how to effectively make a pass in grade school but the skill is still practiced in high school, college and even in the pros for those teams that tend to differentiate themselves as champions from year to year. You can survive and earn money in just about any job with very basic writing skills but for those that want to differentiate themselves and rise up the ladder of success, efficient and effective writing skills can make the difference between being a laborer or middle management and becoming a top level executive or even a highly paid consultant. The cliche "The more you know the further you can grow", is very true and worth the effort needed to become a really good writer and mastering the English language.
James Jackson
Joanne, each group of students will require some different tactics. I am not sure how long you have with each group so this can be a factor as well. One technique I have used is for students to achieve a level of skill in the classroom and elevate them to a specific status based on the skills acquired. One such level was Student Presenter which offered the student a new level of points they could earn due to their presentation and ability to carry-on a discussion in the classroom. In the K-12 environment this is similar to offering an AP or Honors component into your classroom offerings. It was not a required part of the course to pass but did assist in achieving the highest level or marks the classroom had to offer. I will not jump on top of my pulpit here but the way in which grades are assigned in most institutions is as much to blame concerning motivation and performance as any other focal point of curriculum. How a student earns a letter of grade of C and how they can elevate to B or an A should be very different from each other and the curriculum should be designed to reflect the level of work achieved. A student achieving a letter grade of A should be able to demonstrate some substantial skills versus just meeting minimal skills from the lesson plans.
James Jackson
I have found that it is always useful to make the class content relevant to the work environment. Adult students are more eager to learn but they look for relevancy of material.
Fred
I am doing something different this module for my Coding class. Every Thursday, we will do "Roundtable." Each student is assigned a problem from the homework. Then on Thursday we go a round the table and they are to present how they came up with their answer to their assigned problem. They are to make their presentation to the class and this allows them to play the role of the "teacher" while I can just monitor their presentation and the classroom. Should I allow for classroom discussion following each presentation? Or Should I just have them make their presentations and that is it?
In addition to what has been said, engaging the students in creating class presentations allows the student to become more active in their learning experience.
Mr. Cothron
Mellisa, age differences come with their own set of challenges. One of the first assessments you will want to learn how to measure is level of maturity. You are just as likely to have a 45 year old adolesent as you are to have a 25 year old adult. One of the techniques I have used in the past is to provide a short discussion on adult versus adolesent behaviors. I assign some light reading and will have some 15 minute discussions over the duration of the course timeline. Students receive weekly doses of reminders what actions adults will take and what actions an adsolesent would take and do what I can to stear them in the direction of adult behavior. I never acuse anyone of being adolesent, simply provide documentation and discussion on the science behind the two states of mental growth.
Regards,
James Jackson
Rebecca, providing a mixture of delivery methods will greatly assist your students with different learning styles. It is important to build relationships with your students early so you can evaluate their learning methods as quickly as possible.
Regards,
James Jackson
Asking them specific questions and allowing them to apply the material to their personal lives. Also telling my own personal occupational stories that relate to the material.
I instruct student with varying age differences. Some tips I can offer is having guest speakers, group projects, competitive review games, field trips, and allow the students to teach certain aspects of the daily agenda. I find these techniques to be helpful and eases the burden of keeping everyone engaged and active.
Mellisa
I like to use several different methods to deliver similar material. I use power point with lectures, instructional videos provided by our library, and small group discussion to work through the information to name a few. Also to mix things up a bit and to help those students who have test issues, I require a small research paper to cover certain material instead of a test at the end of a chapter.
