Media selection is very important in keeping an upbeat and interested group of students. I tend to weigh my choices of media by basing it on what type of lecture I am about to give. I make it a point to mix it up, some days i use powerpoint some days i use flip charts and some days i integrate mix mediums to enhance the student's learning experience. Keeping a variety helps them to be more alert and iterested.
Hi Mary:
I think every new instructor is confronted with this at the early portion of their teaching caeers, So, don't feel bad.
One relatively simple approach is to rely heavily on your copurse objectives and student learning outcomes (SLO's). If these are written well, they should guide any instructor to what the student needs to leave the class with. After a time, you'll have so much cointent you'll have to be deciding what information are you going to trim down due to time constraints.
Resources are all around you. Past graduates, local, culinary experts, medical personnel, military, just have to think creatively.
Keep at it, don't get discouraged, and good luck!
Regards, Barry
I've used power point, movies, and various online sources and incorporate them into the lecture. I have also done outdoor exercises with my classes, which they all enjoy. I agree that this keeps the students interest and makes, what often is a boring lecture, into something interesting and even fun, and increases the learning process.
take care,
Jim
Hi Earle:
Good - these are good examples. Also, we want to keep our eye on the course objectives to make sure we are using the most relevant resourcse available in order to teach the course in the best way.
We may find that certain media is more convenient or prefered and end up being used more often. With some thought, we might decide there are better choices to accomplish the objective more effectively. Unless we experiemnt here and there, we'll never know if there are better ways.
Regards, Barry
Hi Noralee:
First, I'm glad you feel the modules in ED105 are useful for you. I am always amazed that new ideas and varieties of methods constantly appear.
I'm find your comment about repetition interesting, because I personally feel this is one of the more underused (yet simple) tools we as tachers have at our fingertips.
Repetition is powerful. It works in sports and with atheletes. It works in theatrical and musical performance. Some will say that rote memory is a lower level of learning. I agree to an extent. What I would maintain is that through repetition, basic, fundamental information can be learned that will expedite the more complex spacial or critical thinking that is often required later on. We used repetition to learn our multiplication tables. Then, that foundation allowed the exploration into whole new and higher levels of math.
Just an observation. It seems time constraints has removed this from our curricula. But students can still practice it on their own.
Regards, Barry
Hi Todd:
These are good. I would add that variety and mixing up other media choices make for a fuller and richer learning experience.
Just like eating the same diet day after day is boring, so can learning be if even great resources are not varied.
Regards, Barry
Hi Alex:
Sometimes publisher PPT's are mere dry outlines of chapter material. I find them very difficult to use because I usually have my own spin that I want to present to the class, and it usually doesn't follow the textbook at all.
I will use the image collection for reference, and these slides are good for adding to your personalized PPT presentation.
Regards, Barry
Selecting instructional media has been a challenge for me. I'm a new instructor and this has been one of my biggest challenges. I like using DVD material to confirm my lecture but was unable to find any good ones for Nutrition.
Available technology, relevance, diffculty of material, time available - will it help present the material in a way to maximize understanding.
Our curriculum has many supplemental items that we can choose from. I like to look at the supplemental materials in order to use different mediums--that will keep the students engaged.
I even use free websites to make word searches, crossword puzzles and locate pictures that the adult students can relate to. I also feel that the powerpoints, the textbooks, workbooks and puzzles--reinforce what is being taught.
Sometimes, sheer repitition in the different forms of instructional media presentations gets the aha moment that makes an instructor effective.
I also find that I am learning every time I have a class session. ED105, is a reinforcement of the uses of instructional media--and I am learning additional ways to assist me in helping the students stay engaged and learn more.
By using different instructional media, white board--powerpoints--and demonstrations, you are hitting three of the many different ways that people learn. So you have a better chance of getting your point across to more students.
Sharon;
Thanks for affirming the good deeds you already do. - Barry
Hi Gary:
You listed some terrific ideas on media choices.
One thing I always keep in mind is how my choices align with the course objectives and student learning outcomes. If these have written well, that makes our job a bit easier when chosssing how best to meet an objective, It also helps when developing assessments and exams.
Regards, Barry
Being that I am a new instructor, I often use Power Point slides while I follow along with the textbook. I'm sure that as I continue to lecture, I will develop and improve my delivery method via various instuctional media.
Hi Barry,
Well said, and I totally agree. Considering the curriculum and amount of time the students have does factor in. It is very limited at this facility and keeping them informed about their academic status very regularly is necessary. Thanks for the feedback.
Sharon
First, I determine the functionality of the specific classroom. If the classroom has the capability of electronic media, I will prepare more of my instructional media using methods such as powerpoint presentations, videos, and internet content. If the classroom is more conducive to traditional instructional delivery, I will use more whiteboard outlines and handouts.
Second, if the methods I have chosen do not produce the type of learning experience I had expected, I will try other methods of delivery, such as small group sessions, learning oriented games, guest speakers, and field trips.
After testing the students on the subject matter,
I hope to see which methods were the most productive and successful in achieving the
training, instruction, and learning which was
the initial goal of the specific course.
Hi Margie:
There's so many really creative standard and variations of standard and alternative media out there; gosh, by standards of just a few year back, we have so much.
That's why caution that just because something is "cool", doesn't make it necessarily right for for this class at this time.
So, I look for variety, and mix it up. Change ups fairly often are appreciated by students, helping them stay focused, and keeping the instruction kind of fun, enjoyable, and interesting.
Regards, Barry
Hi Sharon:
Yes, thinking about how a class is conducted and the delivery of course content from the point of view of a students is an important component in choosing media.
Again, variety in choosing which media will be used depends on factors that boil down to how best the students can learn, given the resources available. I consider my time and the students time in weighing what might work, and, as you point out, my comfort level.
We'll want to measure the performance along the way, so choosing that which facilitates instruction, considering all factors is best.
Regards, Barry
It is key that when choosing the type of instructional media, that your students are kept utmost in your mind and in meeting their primary needs. Consequently, you as the instructor has to be comfortable with the types of instructional tools that you use.
Other factors to be considered are: time management related to using the media; and making the corect choice for the course setting how the instructional media is perceived by the students; achieving my goals and objectives.
"Keeping the students in mind" is the foundation on which all the rest is built. I check in with students frequently and will simply ask, "Was this (the method or media) useful in working with the material at a deeper level?" I also do formal anonymous check-ins, depending on how the class is going and how their quiz and test scores tell me they are doing with the material.
I am also fortunate to work with talented, generous instructors who collaborate on strategies and methods.
Thanks!
Margie
