Hi Jimmy,
Questioning students also lets you know if your students are grasping the material.
Patricia Scales
Hi Stephen,
I really like how you get your students to think critically, and I also like how you establish a relationship to the subject. These are ways to get students to hold on to what they have been taught.
Patricia Scales
Questioning students is the most effective way to engage them in a pure lecture approach. The Socratic method allows the students to think for themselves.
When having to do a pure lecture I try to first find something that they can relate to the subject. For example, when lecturing on chocolate I ask who likes chocolate and what kind they like. This starts the discussion being interactive. Then I make references to other topics we have previously discussed and show how they are related. For example, I talk about how chocolate was brought back to the old world and ask them to name some of the other food items that Cortez would have brought back as well, like chili, corn, citrus, tomatoes and potatoes. Then while reviewing the lecture at the end of class I repeat a question in several different open-ended ways which spurs the critical thinking part rather than simply the recall part.
Hi Betty,
These small increments toward a big project work really well for completion of the overall project.
Patricia Scales
One thing I attempt to do when I see the students are overwhelmed is to break the activity or assignment into smaller, more manageable tasks. For instance, If we have a really large writing task, I break it down into smaller assignments with varying due dates and then all of the assignments are put together at the end for the completed project.
During lectures about the recipes being used for the following lab day, discussions could be added that encourage students to identify techniques being used and compare those recipes to past work done
Good point! I know when I was verbally quizzing the student they weren't recalling from one day to the next. The minute I made it a graded quiz they started learning it.
Hi Bernie,
We do work in a very fast-paced environment. You may want to give simple quizzes on the readings to force more participation. Sometimes you have to hit students where it hurts.
Patricia Scales
The biggest issue I've found in all of this is moving past a long syllabus and short hours. We've adopted a platform that requires the student to read the chapters and be prepared for discussion during class, maximizing the learning experience. The issue is the students are often unprepared for class and only a few students can participate Any help on this?
Hi WILLIAM,
Try to have a class discussion, and you guide the disscussion so that things do not get out of hand.
Patricia Scales
As I cover the class material, I constantly use pass arounds and ask my students questions about the power point slides that I have chosen.This gets thoughts and new ideas coming back to me. I find that this keeps them awake and involved. The most difficult thing is to keep them all on the same track with the discussion.
Hi Vickey,
Students get overwhelmed easily, and I like the idea of explaining a concept and then letting the student participate. Most our students absorb information better when it is broken up into smaller pieces.
Patricia Scales
Hi Cameron,
Students tend to enjoy lecture/hands-on teaching because they know they must pay attention to the lecture so that they will know how to perform when it is their turn. Students love hand-on activities as well.
Patricia Scales
I do the same, In the field that I teach, it is so important that they know every aspect of pharmacy. So after each point that I teach them, i have them either write an example or verbally give me a oral response. I find that if I do this after each point, they seem to retain it better.
Teachers at our campus use lecture times explaining theory concepts for different equipment in our curriculum. The first half of class is spent learning in the classroom, and the second half is spent applying what the students learned in the first half of class on the actual physical equipment allowing them to get more familiar with the concepts.
I give my students pieces to the problem to solve while I lecture. This may include organizing elements of a situation that are printed on index cards, and the students listen while deciding how to organize the pieces.
Hi Gayle,
I feel this is a good way to capture all learners. You reach the visual learners, auditory, and at some point when appropriate I am sure you help the kinesthetic learners as well.
Patricia Scales
Sometimes when subject lends itself, I will ask students about a certain aspect at the beginning of class (what they think sequencially, or what might be involved) then I will lecture and discuss it trying to relate back to their answers. Do students get less frustrated b/c they see/hear/learn about it all in one session? or is it a 'frustrating' way to start the class.
Hi Jennifer,
I love it! Learning should be made fun. Thanks for sharing. Students retain information when they have fun while learning.
Patricia Scales
