Break the ice!
Welcome to the brand new Education Performance Group! Simply put, this is the 80-20 rule in action! It’s probably safe to say that 20% of development is through formal training and 80% is through informal learning. We learn by doing and by sharing. So let’s get our learning community for Education & eLearning started. Who is going to break the ice?
I too certainly have to agree to many of you that much of what we learn is through doing. I have been teach for almost nineteen years, and before Istarting teaching at a career college, I thought psychology and sociology at a state community college. Many students had a difficult time retaining what they learned from reading the textbook and lectures. They would cram to learning for the exam, then a week later, if had not made some type of personal association, then they had forgotten it.
When I started teaching IT classes at a career college, I had to make some adjustments to my teaching style. Because students are studying for careers that require hands-on experience, I had to encorporate these types of activities and assessments into my course curriculum. I also have had to convince students that the computer skills they are acquiring are invaluable to any career field they will be entering. If students don't see the benefit in learning a new skill, they only put enough effort into the assignments to get a grade .
Ruth Armstrong
I learn the most by doing. I learn what works in class and what does not. Each group of students is dynamic and different, but there tends to be a pattern as to what they find interesting and what they do not. There are also so many different ways to present material that it takes practice to develop a style that works well for the group you are with. When in doubt, try, try again.
I am the program chair for an online administrative medical assisting program. It is a little more tricky to monitor and recognize some of the issues that we have discussed in ED106. since the students are never in my line of vision, I have to pay closer attention to their responses ( or lack thereof) and to reach out to them as soon as I detect a problem or issue.
I teach a range of business and technology used in business. While I have spent 10 years in the field of instructional development, I feel that I learned a great deal towards my teaching endeavors through this training.
I recognized several methods and models of teaching in the course that I have used. But it's always great to get a perspective of what others are doing that works where I sometimes feels I could improve.
One of my biggest challenges is getting students to engage in their own learning in the virtual classrooms. There is a large percentage submitting work late with various excuses or reasons. I am looking forward to incorporating what I learned here to reduce that number and increase the level of participative learning in my future courses.
I always encourage students to contact us when they graduate and then run into problems in the field. I express to them that just because they have left the school the learning still continues forever, and we are more than happy to try and help them become successful. When you think about it we need some of them to return and teach the next generations, so I believe it is an investment in the future of my industry to help them.
I often share with my students how important their first job will be. I am an LVN instructor. We as instructors help lay a foundation for learning. In most instances many students graduate from school feeling very nervous and unprepared. I encourage them to be a sponge on their first job, learn as much as you can on your first job because that is where you will be able to put your theory and clinical practice into play. It is alaways rewarding when your students return with a success story!
Earl & Dorothy,
I love your thoughts in your posts & to me this emphasizes the need for us to helping students learn & develop the ability to learn, adapt & change. Yes content is important, but to me the most important thing I can help my students learn is how to adapt to the ever changing world we live in. If they walk out of my class/course further ahead in that area I consider it a success.
Ryan
Earl, I too did not use personal computers in school. Even in 2002 as a student at UWGreen Bay getting my Masters' degree in education the main method of delivery was lecture, PPT's, and attempts at meaningful group work. Some students had laptops, but we still took notes by hand. Gosh, was that only 8 years ago???????? Now, the push is on to incorporate learning activities into SmartBoard technology, which hopefully keeps us ahead of this generation of tech savvy kids. Yet, I keep reminding myself how important the human element is in the classroom, and that today's teaching technology is just another tool and not a substitute for the human element we all deliver to our students.
I tell my students I can give them just so much in the classroom. They will learn more in the first year of employment than I can ever give them. This is from my own experience, when I went to school personal computers were nonexistent. Everything I know about software and the computer skills I teach are from practical, experiential knowledge learned and I offer examples from my own career on how to incorporate these skills in real-life situations.
Great post. However, makes me ponder how to think of new strategies in teaching, so information is not just reproduced and forgotten. Not sure how to do that, but I agree with most above that I learned 80% on the job. Gives me a challenge that I tend to focus a lot on lecture. Hope I can continue to mix things up a bit, mingling lecture with lively discussion in the midst, then switch to group work and creative projects.
Lynn,
You make a great point. During my dissertaion work, one of my participants provided me with a great quote that I actually framed & have in my office. "I think real growth comes in taking knowledge and coupling it with experience & turning it into wisdom." I thought of that when I read your comments.
I have been a teacher (mostly English or Math) for MANY years, so most of ED 104 was just a review of prior knowledge and practical experience. I have never even attempted an online course before, and was relieved to see that it really wasn't difficult to navigate through :)
Experience is invaluable, but I like to view the contributions of theory and practice as interdependent. Fortunately, many programs in the health sciences are built so that practice reinforces the theory.
I teach criminal justice. Not only are instructor academic credentials important to students but students wanted to know what experience an instructor has in criminal justice. Being a knowledgeable practitioner of our trade is very important to a student. Not just for the stories we can tell (stories are important) but for the practical and not just academic knowledge we bring to the classroom.
I teach dental assisting students. In my method I bring real life to my lecture topics as well as the hands on education they get in the clinical environment.
True... classroom instruction establishes a baseline, but actual experience in their field is most beneficial.
I teach medical assistant students and i tell them that they need to learn the course content to be able to pass the certification exam and bring a base knowledge to their externship and future employer. However, they will learn other skills on the job to which they will use more often and in accordance to the organizations policies and procedures.
I do believe that the 80-20 rule does apply esp in the educational setting. I am an RN and practiced in a hospital setting for 25 years. Although I had to go to college to get my nursing degree in order to pass boards the majority of what I learned in the feild of nursing was on the job training and gaining experience over the years. I am currently a nursing instructor and tell all of my students that although this period of their nursing education is at best overwhelming do to the mass quanity of information they are learning that most of the reinforced learning will come from on the job experience of working as a nurse.
