more hands on then lecture?
My course is 80 to 90% hands on. Lecture time is on opening day of each phase I spend 2 to3 hours on this and the rest of the time 15 to 20 minutes lecturing per day. The rest of class time is in lab. Is this the best way or how can I improve?
Hey that sounds great. What better way to learn than by doing. Remember the statement a picture is worth a thousand words?
People learn by doing and doing and doing over and over again until they are very comfortable with the task.
The more you do a certain task, the better you will become at that task thru repitition.
Lecture has it's place but too much lecture can be boring for the student. Some instructors just love to hear the sound of their own voices.
I am right there with you ....I prefer more hands on than lecture as no matter how you "entertain" the class during lecture...it can become a bore....
I find that when we are actually doing the work...I can lecture on questions that come up while working.....finding solutions to the problems or concerns....
And also ...students also can come up with their own unique solution or new technique....
I have always felt that we remember the things that we have to jump in and figure out....
It depends on what course I happen to be teaching, but I like to get the class together and do a demonstration of what we are about to do. I will use the reguired materials and proper procedures, explaining as I go along as to what I am doing, why, and why I am using a particular material and the reason it is used in that situation.
as I stated 15 to 20 minutes per day lecture but I do lots of follow up in the lab area at the different stations so everyone gets all the input they need
I try to mix the lecture and lab. I'll get far enough in the lecture so students are familliar with the terminology, component I.D.,etc, and will associate them with the actual doing & seeing the items.
Hands on is great but you still need the basic how and why an item does that,not look at that and see what it does
I give the lecture and incourage questions. Then we do the lab and then I test. So many times I have heard a student say "Now I get it" when I am in the lab with them.
Most learning styles I deal with day to day require hands on. I try to keep relevant parts and tools for my lecture as well as demonstrations how to perform different tasks both in the classroom and lab enviroment.
I have students say all the time that they hate book learning and they need hands on. Hands on is very important but without the basic knowledge of the subject they can not properly perform in lab without the instructor teaching 1 on 1 teaching the lecture in lab. This is not possible with 25 to 30 students in lab at one time.
Even though I teach at a tech school,the lecture part of the lesson usually occupies about 50% of the time. This is necessary due to the fact that some of our material can get very complicated and without proper explanation, the lab part of the lesson would be meaningless.
I HAVE A SET CIRRICULM I HAVE TO HAVE SET LECTURE TIME SO I HAVE MANY TRAINING AIDES THAT I CAN PASS OUT DURING LECTURE TO KEEP IT REAL AND TO KEEP THE VISUAL TYPES LIKE ME INTERRESTED
I am sure it depends on the type of course you are teaching and the maturity level of the students. For instance if the students are engagedand wantto learn then you can create scenarios where they can be come self learniers by doing projects and such within small groups. However, if they are immature and need constant supervision I believe that are more "Hard Nosed" approach may be necessary where I would simply adhere to the syllabus,and lecture time.
Hi Dale,
It sounds like you have to establish a base of knowledge at the beginning of the phase and this you do through the longer lecture. When you mention that 80 to 90 percent of your course is hands on then you have your students focusing on skill development. I believe you have the right balance if your students are developing the needed skills and knowledge to be successful in the next sequence of courses or out in the field. Also, by using the application method of teaching you can provide the content at the exact point when the students see they need the information and this really helps them to see the relevance of what you are teaching.
Gary
