Hi Bob:
Awesome! It is a good instructor that can relate to all of their students (experienced/inexperienced) in the same lesson. I would think it would take some thought and preparation to do this well. Kudo's to you (and others) who are proficient in this manner.
Regards, Barry
I never thought it was right to subject a bright student to what he thought was material that was too basic. What I do is present basic material in a different way so that my inexperienced student is learning from the bottm up and my advanced student is getting info in a different way than he is used to. A certain amount of cleverness is required to be able to pull this off but the results are quite good!
Also, helping the less skilled student before and after class can also go a long way toward keeping the class on a near even keel.
Hi Misty:
Good! Sounds like you're ready to go with the flow. I know I do better when the students are tracking with me rather than a mental "tug-of-war". So, you've got a good thing established there.
Regards, Barry
Hi Steve:
I agree with you that having students provide explanations is a good way for other student to lear. When someone has to explain something, it helps identify how well that person understands the point. So, it's good for everyone.
Regards, Barry
Having material that falls in the middle challenges those that fall behind a little and gives those than can get it done a sense of accomplishment. For those that have experience, I always kept challenging tasks ready so if they completed things early they were working on something that challenged them.
It is very difficult to find the middle ground. i use the experienced students to somtimes explain thing in there ouwn words. this way the least experienced student get more than one explanation.
Hi Eric:
Good ideas! It's a challenge to pace a course to meet the needs of learners with varying degrees of comprehension and understanding.
Another thing you might try is having the more senior or stronger students work with the weaker students. Peer mentoring or tutorials can be quite helpful because a weaker student will tend to relate to another student in their class differently than they do with their instructor. This also keeps everyone busy.
Regards, Barry
We run into this often and our problem is that these students want to remain in the same groups throughout all of their classes. This causes one or more groups to be finished a day earlier than the rest. So to keep them from just sitting and getting into trouble, we have them make repairs, give them troubleshooting projects, or have them do some worksheets that are on reserve. We also will do a lottery drawing for groups after each class if the majority agrees to do it that way. This will also allow students to learn to work with different people that they are not familiar with which helps them in the real world.
Hi Hans:
Great!. I'm a believer in peer tutorial or student mentors. I think they are able to provide a perspective that is different than how the instructor may present similar information. I call it "student-speak". It's like the same information I would try to convey, but somehow, coming from a trusted student (one of their own?), they grasp the needed information. Very interesting.
Regards, Barry
in our culinary field we have students who nnever entered a kitchen before and others who are already experienced chefs. since we do our practical assignments usually in groups, the experienced students are usually selected as group leaders, which helps them to hone their management skills, while they bond with the less experienced students who will benefit from the more experienced students advanced knowledge and skills. usually, both groups profit knowingly.
Hi Steve:
Good question! The reality is we have who we have to work with. Stronger students can be used to assist weaker students. Alternate assignements that challenge the better students can be developed to be performed while the instructor is working on simpler assignments with the "lesser" students.
I think peer tutorials are a great way involve both spectrums of students you describe.
Regards, Barry
