Hi Andrea:
Right! More of the appropriate media choices an instructor incorporates into the lesson the more likely something will spark a "Ahha" moment for the student. Doesn't have to be fancy or special, just variety and`related to the student's study.
Regards, Barry
Hi Andrea:
Yes, engaging students is an important task, albeit not an easy one. When one is engaged, they're participating, interested, and benefiting from the time spent on their learning,. Obviously, most of that will be misseed if they are not fully engaged.
Regards, Barry
It is based on the classroom, which in my case is a kitchen.There are some technical issues involved so powerpoints are not an option as there is no screen available. That basically leaves the white board and flipchart, both work well and have advantages based on the classroom content and work flow.
I agree,as keeping all the students engaged is always important.Students all learn differently and one must offer something for everyone...
The selection of any type of media should be based on the type of class that you are teaching (in my case a kitcehn course) and the constraints of the actual classroom. It is advisable to utilize more than 1 type of media, which will contribute to keeping the students engaged.
If I can present the information directly to the students, I like to choose demonstrations for skill training and either precede or follow the demonstration with a summary description describing the process and then have them repeat the process in class.
But it depends on the level of the class. For graduate classes, I prefer to use the "flip-chart" idea to get them to build a process that they can apply.
If it's an online class, the choice of media is more limited to demonstrations that are recordable and recorded PowerPoint presentations. Interactive Flash scripts are nice, but they take a tremendously long time to develop and in my field they become outdated very quickly. Chat sessions and discussion forums such as this one, seem to work well for online teaching, but they require a lot of support work from the instructor.
Hi Brenda:
Yes, your is a specialty kind of training where the media choices are limited. You probably have some lecture or discussion material that goes along with a class - maybe photographs of how meals are supposed to look like could be projected on an overhead projector or PowerPoint slide. Or maybe steps in a process could be listed and dicussed, then....on to the baking lab!
Regards, Barry
my media is the real thing.
in baking class you make the item, study it, discuss it and it is all very honest. you cannot hide an underproofed brioche.
Hi Joseph:
It's interesting how involved your students can be when they are engaged, motivated, and aligned with your purpose.
Regards, Barry
The criteria is somewhat planned as the specific courses that I Teach/Instruct in are provided by the manufacturer along with their training materials.
We use PowerPoint along with Handouts and Labs which have specific trainers to master the skills being taught. We have full size mock ups and training vehicles to aid in the learning as well.
Additionally we use Movies. I use the board in conjunction with the Powerpoint in several ways...sometimes to trace a circuit live with the students, other times I will place a blank lab or task sheet and as we collectively perform the task I will write in the answers on the board filling in the appropriate block as if I were doing the lab sheet. The round table interactive lab is one of my favorites. I engage the entire class in a learning activity by giving them individual handouts, schematics and problem papers...then we brainstorm and solve the concern...I have them volunteer to assist or assign as need be...the lesson is always fun and gets total involvement from the class. The students will even point out who did not participate enough or start volunteering each other to assist.
As the lesson stated different forms which allow for exciting the senses provide for a better learning experience an retention.
(I have witnessed in the past the opposite if too much flair is added...the example that always comes to mind is a co-instructor at my former school who tried to emulate my style of teaching and took my presentations and started to add sounds to each click of the screen and flashing and colors and well, I don't have to tell you how much that actually turned off the viewers/students)
I guess the old addage is still true, everything in moderation.
Hi Ryan:
Sounds like you've got a good handle on using PPT for better utilization in your classroom. Good variety - keeps the interest.
Regards, Barry
By teaching a pre packaged course my main media, power point, is already chosen for me. I often use the white board for quick drawings to illustrate a concept a little better. I also will blank out the power point screen at times and use the white board to put up bullet point style notes that are not in the power point, I use questions to the students to get the answers that I want for the bullet points. I will then erase them and go back to the power point, I find this to be a nice state change in the presentation.
Hi William:
Hands on adds so much to the instructional process. Combining with PPT is terrific - great preparation for your lab sessions.
Regards, Barry
I am fortunate in the fact that at this school we have many used and new parts and components to pass around the classroom as i teach the information on the power point. this is a big plus because the students can see the real thing instead of just a photo or drawing. we can also disassemble and examine these training aids in the classroom before we go to the lab for hands on instruction.
Hi Ronald:
Great. Choosing the most appropriate way to convey information to students can make the difference whether a student fully grasps the material being presented. Given different learning styles and abilities, this becomes an important task for the instructor.
Regards, Barry
The selection of media is key to reach all the different learning styles also to focus on the students that are not grasping the information through traditional methods.
Hi Ronald:
Quite correct! Usually, the more media and senses you can involve in your lesson the more likely the student will retain the information.
Regards, Barry
When selecting different methods to demonstrate certian tasks it may be necasary to use multiple methods to reach different types of learners.
Hi Steve:
Yes, the PPT (in my opinion) is best used as a guide to discussion, referral to the text, student commentary, or essential points of a lesson. Also, diagrams, photograpghs, charts and graphs are good uses for PPT. It's a tool and should not be the whole focus.
Regards, Barry
I like the powerpoint to guide us and help keep us somewhat on track. Used as a prompt is a better use of the thing, butusing the board is fun also. It gives me a chance to show off my inability to draw and illustrate giving the student the opportunity to guess the part!
