Building a Foundation
Hello:
I teach accounting at all levels. First; as we all know that in accounting it is a building process from a foundation to various levels of understanding. So for me it is critical that the students understand debits and credits and the accouonting equation. With this they can start to build. To be sure that they do a firm foundation I quiz them on the terminolgy then test them on praticial applications of the concepts.
In accounting I realte this to learning our times tables when we were young you just have to do it over and over to fully understand. Practice Practice.
Nursing has a foundation as well. If a student can't understand the basics of nursing, they will not be able to progress in the program. It is important for the instructor teaching that foundations course, to ensure the students understand them. It is a lot of hands on with this course.
When students come to their first classes in Graphic Design, they may think they understand the Elements of Design (line, shape, form, etc) but they don't always understand the relationship from one to the other. I break them down into the most elementary of lessons and show them how each one relates to the whole.
The same can't be said about the Principles of Design (Harmony, unity, hierarchy, etc) I find there are terms that they don't always fully understand. I use the analogy of carpentry to design. I tell them that the elements are the tools and materials needed to build a house and the Principles are the blueprints to show you how to put the materials together to build the house.
The critiques of their work and their classmates' work are the assessments that they have learned the 'vocabulary' of their field and understand how to apply it.
I teach Medical Assisting. When they first start, we have them review root word, prefixes and suffixes. They are then able to follow when we start using medical terminology words because they have been introduced to the common terms.
setting the foundation is so important for the student. I teach the 1st and 2nd terms we have 4 terms, I like to teach them when they are fresh and set a good foundation for learning. I feel it makes it easier for the student to grasp the knowledge if they have a good base line.
