Most of what we do is hands on so it becomes easy to understand your students learning style and needs and than adapting the curriculum and teaching style to meet their needs.
I try to use methods that adhere to visual, auditory and tactile learners. For visual learners I try to always have power points outlining what I am lecturing. For auditory learners I verbally explain all main concepts and for hands on or tactile learners I try to incorporate activities. I have found that debates, group activities and role plays work well not only do there stir emotion which helps associate a memory to the concept but they engage the students, adhere to the needs of tactile learners and make the class exciting causing students to want to be there and show up each day.
We use PowerPoint for lectures and provide guided lectures notes in hardcopy for the students. The document (with the blanks filled in) is projected on the screen and the students complete the missing information. Seeing the lecture on the screen, hearing words spoken and writing in the key words reaches the learning styles of visual, oral and tactile learners. We enrich the facts with stories or examples of what they will encounter in the business.
All assignments are in the portal (though we do provide hard copies of the projects for in class discussion.) Homework found in the portal is downloaded, completed and e-mailed. (This develops file-naming conventions and extensions.)
Classwork assignments mailed to the students require Internet research, (they must locate and extract information and edit word processing and presentation applications.) Students complete the assignment by emailing the attachments within deadline. They often collaborate given availability of computers. Oral presentations with the images projected on the screen are made upon return to the classroom. These classwork assignments support the lecture topic and develop skills and understanding needed for the “big projects.â€
We create games for bonus points. The teams really get into that and yet, they are applying knowledge gained!
Loved the idea that students would read a frame or two from the PowerPoint! Thank you, Bruce. (Forum 4.)
I do believe that the more you include all of the styles of learning in you lesson the more effective you are as an instructor. I have a formula that I have used with good results. I tell the students to read the book ,listen to the instruction during lecture , talk about what we are learning ,practice what we have studied and repeat the process to deepen understanding. This may be a little over simplified but it works.
Teaching nursing clinical provides an opportunity to provide different learning style opportunities. I find it helpful to get an idea of their learning styles the first day we meet. If they don't know their learning styles there are assessment test they can take.
I like to give my students the HEMISPHERIC DOMINANCE assessment inventory and also the BARSCH INVENTORY [both take less than 15-mins] and then I know if they are LEFT or RIGHT brain based as well as if they are PRIMARY visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Then once I know the majority level of normalcy of my class section, I adjust accordingly. Every class section is not the same and I expect that as the culture-flavor of each class section is different. That is exciting!!!!
By spending as much time as possible available for my students to speak with me before and after class about any issues understanding the subjects. I always tell them that there is more than one way to explain a subject/topic and if they don't understand let me know and I will break it down a different way
base course guideline and working extra with students that are having issues or need more attention.
khalda,
This is a great strategy for diversifying the instructional methods for the course. What subject(s) do you teach?
Tremayne Simpson
khalda,
This is a great strategy for diversifying the instructional methods for the course. What subject(s) do you teach?
Tremayne Simpson
I do about the same thing. Most of my class is hands on experience. Therefore I spent half of my class time with lectures and half of my time with hands on experience. In the event when I feel that student requires more time in lecture or in the lab then I would redesign the program for that day.
I present sometimes power point presentations after they read a couple of pages in each chapter. At the end of each power point presentation we break up into teams and answer multiple choice questions.
I like adding my personal experiences, hands on and visuals when teaching.
Teaching in the inner city, most of my classes include students with a wide range of abilities. As a result, I plan for slower learners and then eliminate segments that can be eliminated because student learning has been quicker than planned. If things move slow, I stimulate participation so quicker learners do not get bored.
I created my lessons differently, so that i can use different materials (internet; games; in class homework) different days. I think that makes it entretaining for the students and you different students like different activities.
Karen,
Enhancing the supplemental activities, can make the "rot" subjects more engaging for the students. Additionally, I find that implementing collaborative activities (if applicable) can assist with student engagement as well.
Tremayne Simpson
I find that a varied format for assignments helps with learning styles, but I would love some feedback on how to teach more "rote" subjects. For example, I am teaching a computer applications class that moves very quickly through Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It requires hands on work by the students to understand the material and it can become monotonous to them. Even so, they need to work through the exercises.
I usually lecture. I give an outline so they can fill in the key points. I also show videos on topic if they are available. When possible I bring in supplies or instruments to play with as well, since I teach Surgical Principles.
First would be understanding the different learning styles based in human nature. Next would be understanding the students that you have for you class. Since there could be students from multiple generations, this understanding will help in developing lesson plans that are effective.
Group learning always seems to work best for most of my students, and becomes easy for me to identify the different type of learners I have and to adjust my teaching technique to there style of learning.
