THEY DON'T LEARN IF YOU DO IT FOR THEM
YOU CAN SHOW THE HOW TO DO A TASK BUT UNTIL THEY DO IT THEY HAVEN'T LEARNED ANYTHING!
I found simulation of real life situations to be very useful for student performance. When you tell them that in this particular situation they are on their own, then you can assess what they have learned so far with high degree of objectivity.
I also tend to do the same thing and has worked for me in a lot of areas,(see one ,do one,teach one) When they KNOW they are going to have to teach the task to another, they really seem to get a better grasp on things and due to paying better attention and also tend to ask more quality questions on how "they" would get the point across to the person or people they have to teach the task to.
When dealing with different learning styles it's important that the delivery method cater to each style. I have found in my experience that several of my students can listen to a lecture and proceed to accomplish the task at hand with no further instruction. Conversely I have had a substantial number of students that are completely lost until they get their hands into the task. Others need to see the task performed to grasp the presented concept. The rest of the students fall somewhere in between the two. To accomplish the desired outcome I present the lecture and then walk them through a step by step demonstration process where I have both participants and observers. Those who feel that they learn best by having their hands involved perform the task as I talk them through it verifying each step. The students that learn best from observation are doing just that. This process develops more questions which feeds the learning process.
Thanks, Robert, for this outstanding strategy; it makes for a hands-on and interactive classroom; the teaching profession has always assured us that the best way to really learn something is to teach it to soneone else.
Jay Hollowell
MaxKnowledge/CEE
At times I carry your idea a step beyond.If it can be done or if their is an aide avalible I use the SEE ONE DO ONE TEACH ONE method.I have the student watch as I proform a task then I watch the student complete the same task with the understanding that he is going to have to teach someone to do it. Once anyone knows they have to teach somthing they are more committed to learning everything they can about the task or material.(Think about yourself as an instructor) Granted this is tricky because you have to have more than one task going on at the sametime but I have used it in stations and with single task with good results.
After many years of working in an instructional setting with students I have adopted the philosophy of it is my job to make myself useless. It comes a time in the training of all students when you should be able to give them a problem watch them define the problem research it
come up with a course of action and solve the problem without the help of the instructor.If the student can do this you know he or she is on the right track to being successfull. So I do agree with you whoever does the work is going to be the one who does the learning.
That's good, thanks, Mervin; in fact the definition of applied training is the student performing a task or procedure just as demonstrated...it works fine with the hands-on learners. The auditory learners will count on your verbal explanations in detail and the visual ones will watch you closely and appreciate printed outlines, instructions, etc.
Sound like you have a very interactive class.
Jay Hollowell
MaxKnowledge/CEE
I try to let the student do the work while I instruct them step by step. Then have them do the same thing over on their own. Seems to work.
Some students feel that if they have filled out a required task buy copying the information from another student they now deserve a good grade. When I talk to them I try to explain that if they have not done the task themselves they may not understand how to perform the task or what the results mean. I try to impress to them that this is the time to learn and you learn more buy doing a task than you ever will buy copying someone elses answers and they really don't learn if I give them every answer. Some students get upset and say that I am not helping them but I let them know in the long run they will thank me for making them do the work. They need to understand that "HELP" is not me doing it for them.
This what I've run into many many time the student feels as though they are part of a group so the whole group should get the same grade. When posed with why didn't I get the same grade as them? Well did you do the same amount of work or put in the same amount of effort? Then you get the deer inthe head lights look. Thats when the student realizes that they really don't deserve the same grade since the effort wasn't the same.
I agree! I always seem to push the idea that attitude is very important tool in learning. We need to come to school with the desire to learn and complaint.
We deal with this same situation.I believe it has to do with the students realization that now they need to be accountable for their own success,instead of the'being along for the ride'mentality that group learning will tend to foster.Success at this point goes a long way for building up the students' own self confidence,and it has a certain way of weeding out the 'riders'.
Pete Johannsen
I agree with this completely and face a challenge
every beginning course cycle. Students have been attending classes for almost a year working with the same group of students. When starting the first day of activities and at the begining of each activity there after we discuss the importance of each individuals resposibility to get hands on.
During the group activities I've monitored their participation. All are actively involved in lab and in post discussion of activities. At the end of course cycle they are tested individually and even though participation was observed and they contributed well in discussion review they lock up upon their individual hands on final.
Hi Luis,
Exactly! They have to internalize any and all new information so that it has relevance to them. This is the only way they will be able to apply and problem solve with the knowledge they are acquiring.
Gary
Farida, I'm a new instructor and like your point about everyone Starts the first day with an A and can only Lose that A by not listening and applying what they learn in lab and class. I'd like to use that with my next introduction. I also agree the students need to jump in and get thier hands dirty the sooner the better.
Gary and Farida;
I like the idea that they earn the grade they get, and that they all start with an "A". Is this a reflection of the idea that we are not teaching them, they are learning from us? If so, this goes back to the original subject that they don't learn if you do it for them, whether it is through lecture without discussion or walking them through a hands-on excercise without any problem solving on their part. It seems that they will be better equipped to retain the information if they have had to think about it.
Gary,
Yes. It is definitely up to us instructors to make that our students understand that they earn the grade they receive. Many of the students in my school are told, by admissions/advisors (or others who are not teachers) that the instructors at this university always work with you. I think this is where it all goes downhill. I always make it a point, on the first day of class, to let my students know that they all have a grade of A to start. They can only work their way down by not applying what they learn on exams, papers, lab work,etc.
Hi Farida,
You hit upon a key point that is often times forgotten by students. They earn the grade they receive. They aren't give grades.
Sometimes we as instructors have to remember this as well as we listen to "hardluck" stories as to why projects aren't completed or tests aren't passed. Granted we have to consider each student situation as being unique we still have to hold the students accountable for their progress.
Thanks for sharing. Good luck with your teaching.
Gary
in the setting I teach in, many of our students seem to believe that because they are paying so much money for the programs they are in, they deserve to pass no matter what. I always keep pushing the idea of you earned the grade you received, instead of the student asking me why I gave them the grade they received. A great deal of this is because many students automaticall think they will get spoon-fed the information. Just because an instructor goes over something, and a student did not apply it (or try to apply it)does not mean the instructor did not teach it.
