I follow a conversational, informal presentation style while adhering to the standardized course content. Using practicle examples, senarios and "war stories" contribute to keeping the students engaged and occasionlly entertained.
Thomas,
I agree with your points of importance, in selecting course content. As I mentioned earlier in the post, students need to see individual relevance in a course, in order for them to be able to retain information. This "individual relevance" usually comes from the "authentic" examples (work, life and conceptual experiences) that are provided by the instructor of the course.
Tremayne Simpson
Work experience. Life experience. Conceptual experience.
I usually use these three models to adapt instructional content. The concepts of relevance as it relates to our subject matter , especially in stages as we gain experience. The work experience of what we actually do as opposed to what we learn from a book. Life experience as we interact with others in the same field , as we all have our own different approaches to achieve the objective.
Business Management and Accounting.
David,
What is the primary field of choice for your students?
Tremayne Simpson
I have worked in Banking, accounting and Finance. I know what the students will need to be successful.
James,
I have also used self study assignments for students. Instructors should also use "self reflective/study" tools to measure their overall pedagogical methods and instructional experience. With this reflection (and the assistance of a faculty coach or department chair) the instructor can cultivate developmental goals for improvement.
Tremayne Simpson
Penuel,
The key is that the instructor reveals that they are "learners" in the process as well. Students tend to feel more of a connection with the instructor when they can perceive that it is a mutually, authentic educational experience.
Tremayne Simpson
We have a tool that helps us do this very effectively in our curriculum. It's a "Self Study" assignment for each day, that the students should do outside of the class time. The self study assignments directly relate to the tasks that we are doing in class and even though I don't grade these answers as homework, I can look at everyones answers as we go over it as a group and find out what they know.
An instructor starts building credibility on the first day of class. I introduce myself and give an overview of my work experience to establish myself as an expert. And I am also careful to point out areas that I am still learning. Because I have been a nurse for 40 yrs, I can draw on many case examples to clarify course knowledge.
Michael,
It is a great idea to have supplemental material available for daily lessons. In addition, the material can be used in situations where a student may ask for more examples of a particular topic (beyond examples that are provided in the textbook).
Tremayne Simpson
Jim,
From my experience, students typically appreciate understanding the methods from and experienced instructor. They can also learn both methods and compare and contrast, the effectiveness of each one.
Tremayne Simpson
I try to use the textbook way whenever possible, however, when I am certain that my method is better, my method is what I try to impart to the students. Having many years of experience one of the things I have learned is that there are always multiple ways to solve a programming issue and no one way is necessarily the best way.
There is certain content that "must" be taught, but plenty of opportunity to supplement. I make extensive use of newspaper/magazine/internet articles to show the relevance of course content, as well as real-life examples from my practice. The internet is also a wonderful resource for short video clips, which also varies the lecture approach. I spend time each day looking for new resources;other instructors who teach the same class are always willing to share as well.
Jim,
How do you proceed in situations where your previous experience may contradict some of the methods that are explained in the textbook? For instance, you may have a more succinct way for programming a software component, however the textbook provides a method that may produce more confusion amongst your students.
Tremayne Simpson
Jeremiah,
This is a great method for "breaking the ice" with a new class of students. I give my students a survey activity, in that they are asked to provide details about their individual approaches to learning and their short-range, mid-range and long-range goals.
Tremayne Simpson
I am a working programmer with some 40 years of experience in the field of computer science and programming. As I review the material I need to present to my students I use my many years of real world experience to supplement and enhance the material that is presented in the textbook. The hands on approach works especially well for computer programing courses and I find that most of my students prefer the hands on approach and I build my course content around this learning method. Lecture and reading do work with the hands on approach, but again having your students involved in their own learning makes the course move smoothly.
On the first day of class i spend a good deal of time trying to get to know my students and gauging where there strengths and weakness are. I use this time to let them get to know me as well. I do so so that I can tailor my individual instuction to the needs of each learner and to make myself a more approachable figure to the learner. I find that this allows me to tailor my delivery of content to reach the broadest base possible and leave enough time to emphasize more difficult topics with those that may struggle with them.
Cindy,
Establishing credibility with your students is a highly important task for instructors. Students want the comfort of knowing that they instructor is an "expert" in the field and that they can provide them with examples and information, that cannot be given in a course textbook.
Tremayne Simpson
Brenda,
You have presented a valid point. Guest speakers (from the industry) can provide the students with insight on what to expect when they enter the career world. In addition, they can explain some of the obstacles that they faced in college, which could be helpful for students that are "second guessing" their commitment to study in their field.
Tremayne Simpson
