How to help students to understand harder couse content
I am teaching in a career college and am teaching a class that has much harder and more indepth content. This is my second time teaching this class and the first class did not realy make the adjustment to put in more study time. How do I help them to understand this without scaring them away??
Hi Heather,
Thanks for sharing this strategy with us. I know it will be of benefit to other instructors as evidenced by the success you have had with it. It keeps the students engaged and focused throughout the class as well as holding them accountable.
Gary
Harder course content has been my best friend for over 10 years :) I teach the MCSE/MCITP courses at a career college.
In the past, I had trouble with students taking notes. They would only write tidbits of information, and then had no idea what their notes meant.
On top of that, the young boys thought they could goof off on their cell phones, avoid studying, and surf the web during class, and still pass.
Out of anger and annoyance, I put together a few things that put a stop to all of that.
1. A grading scale for hands-on work was handed out. If they fumbled a lot, or watched someone else's screen when I gave directions for hands-on tasks, I knew they did not read and keep up with the work. They get a grade every day (0-10) on performance in class.
2. All tests and quizzes are essay questions. They need to explain the topics thoroughly. Some questions have textbook content, some are discussed in class, so they better have GREAT notes, and pay attention.
You can't imagine how wonderful their study habits, writing skills, and comprehension have become.
I know they didn't like these methods when we started out, but if they sit before an employer now, they will be able to ace the interview with confidence!
Hi Michele,
Thanks for sharing these strategies with us. They are great ways to involve everyone and develop their expertise as problem solvers.
Gary
I started teaching in technical education this year after many years instructing lawyers and seasoned law enforcement professionals. The transition to teaching complex legal concepts to 1st year technical students was bumpy. Class time was fairly successful since I incorporated a number of scenarios/case studies. However, test performance was poor. Then, I began using scenarios to test both concepts and detail. A few students still refused to study, but the majority of the 30 person class viewed the scenarios as interesting cases to solve. They created study groups to consider different arguments/variations/solutions, and that translated to much higher test scores. Also, the questions helped develop needed competencies for future law enforcement and legal professionals-- analysis and critical thinking.
Hi David,
If it is possible for the students to have case studies to do I have found that they will invest the necessary study time to find the solution for the case study. This way they are getting the information in an integrated way rather than just being assigned some many chapters to read in the test. They are reading the chapters but they are doing so for a purpose, that being the solution part of the study.
Gary
