Get Your Students Hired
Rosalyn,
Variety is very important. We can choose awesome material we think students will love, but if the medium is not varied, students will begin to lose attention.
Barry Westling
ROBIN,
My take is whatever we use, it needs to be applicable. Also, there needs to be variety -- students tend to have short attention spans, so mixing up the delivery of course material is a better best practice.
Barry Westling
I love creating power point presentations for content and using the white board when making a point of student input. For instance I'll ask a question and then write the responses on the board and try to find a pattern that is useful in making the point.
However, it depends upon the mix of students at the particular time and course content how pp presentations are received. I always utilize pp for exam review and distribute handouts with notes for the students. I find that when words don't work, pictures do. Some students are visual learners and are totally receptive to pp handouts. I am thinking about interactive visual learning modalities and intend to do some research on this form of presentation.
The selection of media depends on what is being taught. In my setting we have lecture and lab. Lecture is primarily through power point presentations however, we do use instructional videos as well. The lab portion is primarily demonstration/return demonstration. This is where the students get to do the hands-on learning.
Eric ,
More and more, students are accustomed to sound and video resources. I'll use brief snippets, trying to keep a topic under 5 minutes. And, it's got to be spot on or else I lose students in the first minute.
Barry Westling
Gretchen,
Each choice makes for effective, so-so, or marginal outcomes. It's good to honestly evaluate our students and defer to their needs rather instructor preferences.
Barry Westling
Erin,
And I would add, brief, straightforward, and limited and fancy colors, fonts and designs. Really, that tends to get in the way of the information we are trying to present.
Barry Westling
Typically I select my media based upon the size of the group, and what type of instruction needs to be given.
I use hand outs for students to follow along with discussion, so they can make notations, and observations.
I use videos after one on one demonstration of a new technique with small groups. typically pausing the media to discuss important area, or to ensure that the material was understood.
There are several tools and resources available that one can choose from. They all serve different purposes and each has its pros and cons. In order to create a more engaging experience for students, I would choose a combination of audio, video, and digital text (power-point presentation).The reason being that these formats (MP3, podcasts, and video) allows students to gain access to important course content at a moment's notice. A huge benefit as it enables them to listen or review the materials as many times as is required, while also providing a rewarding experience.
Ensuring the information presented comes from a reliable source is key. Utilizing Power Point presentations is a great way to reach our students, but the information must be correct and accurate.
John,
Students rely on their visual learning sense a lot. And with short attention spans it's important to keep a smooth, seamless pace with variety, even if that involves returning to prior media (i.e., back and forth between white board and PPT, for instance).
Barry Westling
I select the type of media around the subject matter i am trying to teach. Video, power point and white board along with hands on visual aids on certain items to get the point accross and assist in the learning process.
James,
Great! Media choices are so abundant, our selective, creative, responsible decisions can make the difference in providing a smooth lesson or one that is less than wonderful. Not something we should take lightly.
Barry Westling
Choosing the best medium for a particular instructional outcome can be be illustrated by the medium we choose to order a pizza. We would not write a letter but, rather, pick up the phone or go online. Similarly, if the desired outcome falls within, say, the psychomotor domain, we would want to choose a medium that is rich with visual cues such as video or rapid sequence photography so that students get to see the desirable movement. Showing a paragraph describing how to do something would be a poor choice in this case.
Afrodite,
Yeah, a steady diet of the same or similar instructional material is really hard to keep attention and focus, and is not that interesting (albeit perhaps important) to the students. Creating an environment that promotes thought and application is one important goal when selecting media.
Barry Westling
There is not one correct answer for this question as every class is different. There are many things to consider when choosing the correct instructional media for your class. For instance you will need to take into consideration the classroom environment, the size and layout of the class, the class dynamics, the subject matter and the availability of the media technology. What works in one class may not be as effective in another. Many instructors use the PowerPoint slide option which can be of great assistance but it is important to vary the methods of instruction and the media selection in order to reach the different learning styles. Whatever you choose, moderation is the key.
Rochelle,
There are really so many excellent web-based resources available, the challenge is to very selective as to what will provide the best use of the instructor and students time.
Barry Westling
in selecting media for content delivery , newer technology and social media are great resources to augment media to deliver content that is challenging to class such as pathophysiology.
Melissa,
Awesome! This is a great synopsis of methods to maintain engagement, focus and attention.
Barry Westling
There are a multitude of media content that is used for my class. I use powerpoints, videos, researched articles, experiments. My videos can range from thirty minutes to a few seconds. I am constantly keeping the students engaged from working on worksheets in groups to completing classroom experiments. By engaging students by different kinds of media content, the students are more likely to learn the material. I find this helps in the classroom, when we have to be there for over 3 hours.