How do you keep a student engaged in the class ?
Instructor must be able to multi task and identify the different kind of learner in the classroom.
Anyone working at a career school must integrate a lot of hands-on activities. I teach the English and Career development courses, and I am constantly changing the way I present the material from the feedback of the students. Sometimes I introduce something and do not get the response I expect, so I just find something else to present.
I also like to keep my students on their feet, so to speak. I do this by frequently calling out on different students and expecting responses. Also, I like to think of projects that take group efforts because it helps the class realize the important of collaboration like creating stories as a class.
The textbook that I use comes with a CD that has an evaluation on it to help students determine if they are visual, tactile, or auditory learners. I have the students complete it and then we discuss what the evaluation means to each type of learner and what they can do to increase their in class learning. The CD also goes on to provide study resources for each chapter for each learner. This is a LWW textbook.
I completely agree with you comment about how your excitement about the subject is contagious. I notice that too, especially in two of the classes I teach.
I also teach hands-on classes, and I feel the individual attention is very important. It allows you to work individually with each student--you get to learn where their strengths and weaknesses are so you can continue to adapt to how you teach that specific student.
I have also found that if I am willing to listen to my students about how they learn a particular subject that that helps in many ways. Some of the subjects I teach I have taught for some time; I always tell my class that it has been a long time since I have been on the other side of the desk. So it is important for them to give me feedback on a regular basis on which techniques work--and which don't. One class I have completely changed how it is taught--the retention and the grades in that class have improved. Every time I walk into a class I remind myself that I am there to learn and need to be open to what the students have to say--whether it is verbally or through their body language.
I agree Ernie! I think it is very important to incorporate all learning styles into your lectures/classes. Sometime students don't know their own learning style, they may just think they are stupid or that they "just can't get it". If you can incorporate everything into your classes, as long as they are putting the necessary effort they will get the material.
Yes, a pre test will give you immediate feedback as to the levels of students in your class.
Dorothy, are you suggesting something like a pre-test to establish personal and aggregated base levels of subject knowledge?
First day of class assessment is crucial to success. Like in a speech class, you must teach students how to perform an audience analysis. Teacher's must learn who their students are/ level of their students. Find this out by giving a quick assessment related to your subject. This will tell you how to approach the learning environment.
How does this work? Are the communications with you or posted to a more public setting? Have you had any trouble with students using these sites to bash the school or specific people at the school?
I often like to provide social networking sites to keep the students intrigued as to what is going on in the school and with other classmates
By identifying differnt types of learners, you need to keep the students focused on what it is they like to do. Multi-tasking is definitely a role when dealing with students, and being very flexible and understanding. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and the student will look up to the instructor no matter what their background is.
I teach a hands on class. I watch my students during lectures and demos and ask them many questions to keep them involved. During their production, I walk the room continuously to see if they have questions and to make sure they understand the lesson. I speek to each one of them individually. I myself am very excited about the subject that I teach and I have noticed that it can be contagous.
I only have one class, but I can vary it by making it technical, telling stories from the field to help convey the material, drawing diagrams on the dry board, or passing around actual parts for hands on people. I will use which ever suits the class the best.
Brian, how do you classify classes and how do you tailor your delivery?
I absolutely agree with Ernie, on the second day of class we do a learning assesment and have the students identify what they are. After I am aware of what kind of class I'm dealing with I tailor the delivery of the lesson plan to fit that class.
Michael, could you share some examples of the ways a class differs from others and how you adjust your presentation to accommodate these differences?
I agree with you whole heartedly and you really hit the nail on the head when you stated that you should keep the classes interesting. You’ll find that this changes from class to class. You must be able to analyze a class in the first week or two in order to initiate the best method of approach for that class.
The best way to keep students engaged is to get them involved in class discussion/participation. By asking open ended questions to the students, individually, while teaching or presenting the materials, instructors give students an opportunity to showcase their skills, potentials, and talents. This is also used to booster their self-confident, taking ownership of their work, research, and findings.
Communication ... regular, communication. This is begins through many souces such as feedback on assignments and prompt email replies.
I strongly beleive that you don't need to spend so much energy and time trying to figure out what learning style your students adapt to, but instead incorporate all the learning styles into your lessons. I bet that you will be able to get all of your students involved that way and they can even all start teaching each other, that makes our jobs alot easier.
