I enjoyed this training. I will try having students not take notes during a part of my lecture as the training suggests. Thanks.
The past two semesters I have taught a Math for Elementary Ed majors and I have finally realized what an active classroom looks/feels like. Each lesson the students are engaged in hands on activities where they are learning/reviewing the math themselves, but also working with their future activities they will be using in the classroom.
The class is challenging at times because the students need to learn the math being discussed, but also think on how they would use it in their own classroom.
My classes are 95 minutes long, and most days they are working on an activity for about 10 or 15 minutes before we change things up. I have learned the more I can keep them active and engaged the better the outcome.
One specific activity I like to do with area and perimeter is to bring in a piece of land (a large brownie), fence posts (pretzel sticks), and a house (graham crackers). Each group gets a different assigned area for the yard and dimensions for the house and they have to decide on how all will be placed on their piece of land accordingly. It is great to see them get so involved and even tho they are 20+ in age, they love the activity and learn a lot from it.
I know have started to use active learning in my other classes. It takes time to plan, but it is well worth the student's education!
I, too, have used Jeopardy in the classroom with great success. We also play 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'. If you google the title and add 'online PPT download', you get an interactive powerpoint which has some sound included for answers. You plug in the questions/answers and then can control from your clicker. The students absolutely love both games and their test scores reflect it.
Rather than just lecturing on the humanities, I have students assume the identity of various historical and influential people through history and present a Powerpoint presentation through the eyes of their new identity.
Students find this fun and are engaged in their respective roles. After each presentation we break for a class discussion on the historical accuracy of the presentation.
I am looking forward to trying out the group lecture without notes and have class as a team make them.
Hi Christine,
Students tend to do well with group work. Remember 4 brains are better than 1 brain. It is amazing the work quality students produce when they give their very best as a team.
Patricia Scales
Hi Karen,
Students love games as a learning tool. Students really do retain more from having fun while learning. Jeopardy is definitely a hit when it comes to games as a learning too.
Patricia Scales
A number of instructors use the gameshow approach to review
Students relate well and love to participate
Jeopardy seems to be the most applicable
I agree! I have a large class and we divide into 4 teams. Each team member gets a turn at the board, the remaining members can't help the one at the board but they have the opportunity to correct other board players and steal their points. Involves them in group participation.
Hi Michael,
What an awesome way to get students involved and to spark their interest for what is coming. I am sure most of your students enjoy this exericse. It sounds exciting.
Patricia Scales
Hi Teresa,
To nuture a seed and watch it grow is exciting. I am sure there is a lot of excitement daily with the growth of the seed.
Patricia Scales
Hi Jennifer,
Students really do enjoy group learning, and they especially like hands-on activities. As an instructor we should always monitor our classrooms, regardless if students are working in groups are not. We need to know what our students are doing.
Patricia Scales
At the start of the course, I provide a list of web sites and blogs that deal with current issues in the health are industry. At the end of each lecture, I have a short period where I give a "Coming Attractions" of what we will cover in the next class and ask the students to scan the web for real life examples of the subject matter.
It the class , students bring their articles that correspond to the lesson. I divide the class in small groups and have each group give a "breaking news report" on what is the current issues that encompass the lecture topic.
Instead of opening with a lecture I can have the students break into small groups and give them a worksheet that has them discussing the topic at hand. Walk around and interact to see how they are progressing on the topic and what they know and don’t know. Then have each group present to the class a portion of the worksheet that was assigned to them.
Hi Earl,
Absolutely! The students come first. At my institution this is the order: Students, Institution and then Self.
Patricia Scales
I have taking a lot of ideas and provided more active learning techniques that would assist the student as well as myself. It is important to put the students first.
When teaching Aristotle's theory of Virtue Ethics, I have students replicate Aristotle's experiment of the tomato seed with seeds of thier choice, plant them and watch how each seed "knows" its identity, purpose, place in the world, how to grow, find what it needs in regard to nurture. The students then create the ways the seeds of virtues within themselves find the path to growth - and what creates barriers to the growth of virtues in themselves. An added benefit is that many students have never planted and grown something from a seed which has a more general benefit to their education.
Hi Kathaleen,
I used mnemonics as a way to learn, and it is very effective as well as fun! Some students can certainly come up with some very creative mnemonics. The informations sticks with these little tricks.
Patricia Scales
Hi Jason,
Love it! Hands-on is one of the best forms of learning. Students enjoy doing what they have been taught to test their knowledge.
Patricia Scales
Because I like to use mnemonics as learning tools - I have asked the students to create mnemonics as we learn different body systems.
My favorite was the student who wanted to learn the three sections of the small intestine:
dudodenum - the first section of the do-do tract (she has a 3 year old - so we all laughed about the "do-do" but it stuck in our minds)
jejunum - june is in the middle of this word, is in the middle of the year, and is the in the middle of the small intestine
ileum - the e in ileum will remind me of the end of the small intestine.
