Get Your Students Hired
Carol,
I agree. However, it is also important to understand "where the students are at" in upper-level courses, to ensure that they have retained information from their prerequisite courses.
Tremayne Simpson
The school provides a syllabus of the courses. I follow the syllabus and input personal information. I draw upon my experiences and tell the learners that it is an ongoing process. Research and learning never stops.
It depends on if it's an introductory course or continuing course in many instances. In introduction it's important to see where students are at. Some may have had some experience in the area you're teaching, especially if it's in a practical subject. But when introducing a subject you always need to be able to address the student who has no experience or knowledge, and then have additional material that the more advanced students can work on, or work on independently.
Jonathan,
As a fellow General Education instructor, I agree that it is important to find methods to further engage the students. I find that exhibiting how the subject is a part of current events of pop culture, truly engages them and increases the student participation.
Tremayne Simpson
Jonathan,
As a fellow General Education instructor, I agree that it is important to find methods to further engage the students. I find that exhibiting how the subject is a part of current events of pop culture, truly engages them and increases the student participation.
Tremayne Simpson
Jonathan,
As a fellow General Education instructor, I agree that it is important to find methods to further engage the students. I find that exhibiting how the subject is a part of current events of pop culture, truly engages them and increases the student participation.
Tremayne Simpson
The best way for me in selecting course content, is to examine what skills I use from the subject area in my professional life, and expand on those skills in class. As an English teacher, most of my students have to take my class as a GE, and do not care for the subject. In order to get them interested, I try to discuss topics, and assign homework, that demonstrates how English is used in the professional world.
Carl,
This is an excellent concept, that can work for all subjects. Instead of beginning a lecture by discuss the most difficult aspects of the concepts, it usually works best to work from a more simplistic concept, that can ultimately lead to the student understanding something that is more complex. Also, starting with what the student know about the subject can serve as an excellent assessment tool for the instructor.
Tremayne Simpson
I first determine what the audience knows about the subject matter, then I identify key concepts they need to know, and then work to fortify those arguments with facts which help them understand the importance of the key concepts.
Take proteins, proteins are made up of amino acids which take a particular shape to function.
The key concept they need to know is:
Shape defines function. If the shape is changed, say, another molecule added to it, it changes the shape and the function.
Deborah,
This is a common issue...as instructors it is not realistic to expect that students will always be intrinsically motivated to complete assignments. However, I have found that "indirect" motivation can prove to be quite effective. For example, if a future exam question or answer is embedded within the self study assignments, you will quickly find that the students will complete them.
Tremayne Simpson
Do you have any suggestions for encouraging students to complete self study assignments when they know they won't receive "credit" such as a grade/points for the work? Thanks
In accordance with personal experience and the student population in the class. Personalize it to best suit the students you have.
I have a standardized course curriculum and must teach the content. However, I have descretion in the delivery. Since I have many years of experience and am comfortable with the content area, it is easy for me to personalize the content in to my instructional style. My students have no prior experience in the area and many have no idea what it is like to work in this particular area. My many years of experience provide a wealth of anecdotal information allowing them to imagine themselve in the situations I describe for them.
I am an Environmental Science instructor and I've had the privilege of being able to travel internationally, which has enabled me to bring examples into the classroom. It has also helped in understanding what topics the classroom could do without depending on the comprehension level.
From my experience when it says "standardized" it is the minimum standard for the content. I have personalized the content by relating it to the course of study that the students will relate to. The needs of my students will definitely vary because of their different learning styles. I might have some that are hands on, or some that like to read the information, or some that like to listen to lecture. Then there are those that like a variation of all of the styles. Depending on the students, I would start off with a little of all three and see where most of the class lies. Normally, there will be a good mixture of all three styles. If that is the case, I will need to mix it up on a daily basis with activities and lecture along with some reading time. I like teaching this way because it allows me to gain perspective into what the students want and to make myself a better educator.
I personalize it by including actual work experience and how it relates to the subject matter that is being taught and discussed.
Course content must come from the established learning objectives of the course. I feel it is best to combine lecture, Power Point presentation, discussion of why this information is important and how it has real world application.
Cindy, I do the same thing. As a Registered Dental Hygienist with over 20 years of experience, I can also relate situations based on examples. Students love real world examples. It really helps them to learn from someone experienced.
In selecting appropriate course content it is best to begin with the course objectives, what is it that the course is designed to pass on as a learning objective. Once identified, the process then becomes easier as you now know the required content; it becomes a choice then of how to best present said content. This is as individual as it comes to each and every instructor to determine the course presentation and subject topics to meet the course objectives. Some are straight forward lecture styles, others are active learning events involving class interaction and research. Some instructors are best at one method or the other and it is wise to incorporate as many different learning styles to present the course content to ensure retention.