Learning Style
It's important for an instructor or advisor to know the different type of learning styles of the generational cohorts to provide personalized assisstance or instructions to students.
Jackie,
this is a great way to manage the small groups & to utilize a strategy that keeps the students engaged.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Hi Bonita, welcome to the exciting world of adult education. With that amount of time available, and utilizing technologies in the classroom, I have used small groups and sent them to a website to pick the topic of their choice. I recorded which group had a particular topic to prevent duplication. I did this as a way to generate their personal interest in a topic, and having multiple topics selected by different groups, everyone now has the opportunity to use the assigned technology to learn about the topic and conduct a presentation of the material.
They are active in the learning instead of me presenting them the material. I have to manage the class and keep them on task as they will wander onto other non-related topics if given the chance. Just a suggestion for you, good luck.
Bonita,
the variations in the approach are a great way to engage the learners. I would suggest throwing in some paired or small group discussions as well if the material lends itself.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I am trying to change my approach to teaching by using various teaching techniques. I use the text book, lecture notes, power poing pics, and flash cards has also worked to add variety. I attempt to talk to each student on an individual basis.
I am a boomer and a new instructor as of three months, I am trying to come up with creative learning styles to keep my student attention. One of my classes is 4.5 hours long so I am trying to come up with changes in the classroom every 30 minutes or so. My average age student is approx 27 so I am working with various power point including games.
Monica,
this is a great point & we need to remember that teaching to all of the learning styles is always a good idea.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
Hopefully my future lessons will be better received by students because I have a better understanding of how they learn. I now understand the widespread use of hand-held electronics throughout the day; before this, I felt that students werre ignoring me. I have seen better grades if I allow students to multi-task while I present the lesson.
I found that incorporating multiple styles (even to the same cohort) enables each individual to feel a level of comfort in the material.
I think the most important thing I gleaned from my undergraduate experience was that I learned how to learn. Not only was I able to discover what worked best for me, but I also learned not everyone learned the same way.
