First, know what the college is expecting the student to know at the completion of the course. Try to bring in as many real-world examples of why the information passed on to the students will be used in their future careers. Recognize that some will struggle with the content, some will think it is too easy, and most will be challeged from either the material or the life issues that get in the way of successful adult learning. Attempt to make it fun to learn as much as possible.
I have used guest speakers, field trips, and drawn on the personal experiences of my class. Being an evening instructor, my class is mostly working adults. The classes usually end up in a very honest roundtable based upon experiences of everyone in the room. We then apply those experiences to the structured material, and the end result is a nice package that the students can continue to apply to their lives.
I attempt to stay current with the subject-area I am teaching, meaning I make sure my own professional development is up-to-date and I am continually developing myself. This allows my students to get the "real world" examples that some professional instructors (i.e. do not have the real world experience) do not know about or can't relate to.
I also try to mix things up on a regular basis. The biggest complaint in our college seems to be that professors "read from the book". Students forgot to realize that yes, the content will be repeated, but hopefully in various ways to where they will retain it and not "read" straight from the book.
Hi Vicki,
Good plan you have developed for yourself to expand your delivery options. I know you are going to really enjoy developing these new methods as well as using your creativity to devise these methods.
Gary
I try to keep my lectures as interesting as possible with real-life examples of the subject; field trips related to the industry; taste, feel and smell the actual foods we might be discussing; projects where the students have to do research out in the industry.
Reading through this module however, I realized that I'd like to incorporate more varied delivery methods - shorter lectures with demonstrations; incorporating computer learning - such as these courses.
Hi Sara,
Good advice for instructors that want to get the "big picture" of how the curriculum is put together for the students in their field. I think it is good that you get to see the students at the beginning and then at the end of their coursework. You can see how they have grown in experience and skill throughout their time as students.
Gary
I have a few early in the program courses and courses at the very end of the students cirriculum. This helps immensely to form the base knowledge I want them to have in the later classes. I think it is essential that all instructors know what is being taught and to the degree of detail in each subject (as best we can) to be able to summarize/quiz, assimilate all the info. for an entire program.----takes a lot of time. I think a good way to get an idea of other classes content (besides the syllibus) is looking at other classes final exams.
Hi Joel,
Thank you for sharing your strategy for getting students involved in the discussion and interaction part of your course. It is a challenge to get student involved when it is an online course and you have found a method that really works well in this area.
Gary
Hi Gary,
One of the things that I always use are "real-life" problems as a part of our discussion topics for the week. Teaching in an on-line environment, a majority of the student's learning follows the Computer Based methodology where the student self-paces through the material during the week.
To try and keep the class engaged as a group, I find that having relevant examples for them to work through helps the students connect the material to actual applications which are easy for them to share and discuss. So, while the students may take longer or shorter time to work through the unit's material during the week, everyone comes together during the discussion by the end of the week to talk about the methods we are using and provide examples of how to apply the material in practical applications.
Hi Wenting,
Good way to combine your instructional delivery with the learning preferences of your students. This way you are targeting the students as well as showing them the use of color, texture, etc. in their field.
Gary
Know your students and the Curriculum! Build your lesson plans around what they have learned prior and build on those skills to increase learning and knowledge of your class.
I teach fashion design. Most of my students are visual learners. Consequently, I make every effort to supplement lecture material with an abundance of visual references. Similarly, I ask my students to respond to design problems with visual responses. I find reflecting my students' learning style in my teaching style is very productive.
Hi Kevin,
This is a great idea of how to use the abilities and learning preferences of all the students within a learning group. Each gets to contribute and benefit from sharing with the other team members.
Gary
Hi Jannette,
I like the way you are spreading the circle of influence and knowledge for your students. It is easy just to share the content but not the applications. Your approach helps them to see the bigger picture of how what they are learning is going to position them for success in the future.
Gary
We implimented a three day group project in our cold kitchen class. During the three days each group needed to clearly define a specific cold food mirror presentation. We have noticed that in a group project there is a natural selection process for a leader. Addtionally each students best learning style was needed to make the overall project a succsess.
I also try to introduce new and relevant websites to
software training classes.
Design sites that relate to the course, ones that might further peak students interests for real world design problems.
Blogs, archives, etc.
Hi Cathleen,
Good idea. This is a form of pretesting you students as well as creating a baseline of what they know. This should really help as you make the final selection of content and delivery.
Gary
I find if you can give the students a demonstration in 30 to 45 minutes and then get them working on their product it gives them time to do things over if nessacery
I have my students send me an e-mail stating what experience they have with computers and what they want to get out of the class. Besides assessing the students learning needs, it also verifies they know how to send me an e-mail.
I agree with Whitney's point. Often sometimes we can get too busy and overlook a perfect way to generate more interest and to gain feedback from studentgs by incorporating up to date reference or news pertaining to our course subjects.
