Teaching Students How to Learn Again
I find that a big part of my classroom time is spent teaching my students how to study and convincing them that they can learn and succeed. So many of them are years out of school, and many did not do well the first time around. To help them learn that they can learn the material, we have weekly exams over one or two chapters at most. This breaks the material into small enough pieces that the students won't get overwhelmed by the amount of material covered. After each exam we review the answers and I counsel the students that struggling most. I praise them when their scores improve, and suggest ways they can improve the quality of their study time. When they realize that they can and do improve as they utilize their time more effectively, they tend to improve markedly. So many people simply don't know that they are capable of learning and succeeding.
Scott, I as well spend much time teaching the students how to test, study act in class, etc. I find that there is a breakdown at both home and public schools that have been overwhelmed and are not teaching basics as they are busy doing other things. Home has both parents working, school is teaching them what they should have learned at home, on to us that teach them what they should have learned in the earlier school.
I also have found that by breaking up material into smaller sections helps their retention. I will brek longer chapters up with reviews, projects, Q&A, whatever I think will help them with remembering somethings.
Craig,
Thank you for this post. Some of our younger students also may benefit from some "how to learn" guidance you provide.
One of the most successful faculty members I worked with was able to convince students to stay after class for 30 - 45 minutes a few times each week to work together on assignments. He stayed in the room with them and provided support when needed.
His students were usually in their first or second term. Many continued to meet in study groups with their cohort during the full two years of their program.
I too have to spend time reteaching my older students how to learn again. I tell the class at the beginning of the course that If you have been out of school for a few years, they need to work on study habits. They usually have more on their plates than a student right out of high school that still live at home. I invite my students to stay after class to go over the material in a studying fashion. When they move on to other courses, they come back to tell me that they are still using the tips for studying that I helped them with and they are doing well.
Susan,
Thank you for this post. Many times it is not the lack of vision that keeps people from trying to change. It is often that the current reality creates a scotoma to the available strategies for changing the current reality to what it is a person wants reality to be.
What are one or two things you do to help students to step out of their comfort zones?
I would agree with your statement that educators of today spend a lot of time with students trying to help them develop skills that have not yet been attained. I work with at-risk teenagers, and I find that the biggest difficulty that they face is their own lack of vision and desire to change. They have found a comfort zone, but they prefer NOT to leave it. As a result, they limit their potential and their lives. Our job, as educators, is to help them see that taking steps outside their comfort zone will ultimately lead to something good and even great.
I agree, in everchanging field of education there are many learning techniques to use. An instructor can make learning more interesting by suggesting new techniques - memory joggers, games, etc.
Scott,
Excellent post! This is some great stuff. You have a great system and are definetly an intelligent heart. Keep up the great work
