Get Your Students Hired
Before I teach the class, I assess what the needs are in the class. For example, I may have a learning disabled student at the same table as a high achieving student. I try and pair up industry trends with their style of learning. For example, we are a culinary school and we tailor the best to the tactile learner. We do a demonstration at the beginning of class then they attempt their own.
When teaching proof reading skills in a writing class I use Peer Editing to teach skills. I do this in a group setting with each student reading a paper and then discuss the necessary corrections to the paper. Finally the group should reach a consensus and fill out a Peer Editing form.
Hi Richard,
This is one of my favorite methods of teaching a course and it is because of just what you outlined in your forum response. It is real world, practical and fun. How much better can it get?
The students grab a hold of the problem and I serve as the coach. It is motivating to see the growth that occurs throughout the course.
Gary
Covering all the days material and supporting it the same day over and over again to help to renforce it.
My favorite class to teach is systems analysis. I use a project approach where I have students work with a local non-profit to analyze a business problem, write up a report, and make recommendations to the client. It is a real-world use of the techniques we discuss in class. It also gives them an idea of the messyness of dealing with people in a real company. Lastly, it gives them experience they can put on their resume. Students work harder in this class than any other they take...and love it.
Hi Jennifer,
This is a key part of making the course "real" for students because they know you know what you are talking about based upon your clinical experiences.
Gary
Hi Andrea,
You make a number of very good points about how to include all of your students in the learning process as well as give them breaks in the learning flow.
Making yourself available to the students is a major part of teaching and I really like your comments about how you do this. You are right about many students asking for help only have they are in deep trouble with the course. As we say "if only they would talked to me sooner".
Gary
Hi Lisa,
I am a big fan of the think-pair-share method because it does a lot of things for the students. Not only in relation to going over the content but also the working with others. It starts small but before long the entire class is involved in the discussion with all students, even the shy ones having their say in the discussions. Good idea.
Gary
Hi Christopher,
Good ideas. Thanks for sharing your plans for how you are going to set up your delivery methods.
Let me know how they work out for you.
Gary
Hi James,
What have you found to be an effective way of matching the content to student need? How is the bridge between the two made?
Gary
I start out with a mini lecture and ask a lot of questions to get the class to be interactive. If I feel like I don't have their attention, I will make a joke or tell a funny or interesting story about an experience I've had in the industry. This helps the class to understand my background, but also to know that their goals are acheivable. I follow lecture with a short break then go into demo or on some days I show slides first to back up what I've explained and then do demo. We immediately follow demo with the class making what I showed them and I walk around coaching them. I feel that it is very important not only to be available to help them but to be extremely accessable to each student. Some of them don't relize that they need help and some are too shy to ask.
Fortunately, my courses easily allow for the various techniques and strategies being discussed. Part of my courses involve(d) film, so the showings themselves break up the potential monotony of lectures. Then, discussion of the films allowed for a variety of class discussion (Q/A, debate, etc.). Reading various essays and texts allows for still more teaching strategies. For fun, but also for making moldy subjects more accessible, I'll play the "Schoolhouse Rock" songs to introduce a new writing technique or concept (or review an older one). I'll flash a cartoon of Snoopy writing one of his many novels to introduce some aspect of the writing experience. And then modeling the writing techniques helps students see the theory turned into practice. In all ways allowed by my field, I hope to hit all of the learning styles and needs they bring into the classroom.
As I discussed in an earlier post, I like to make the clear connection between "literature" and the popular culture they're already immersed in, so they see in very practical terms that the art and literature we talk about in the classroom IS reflected in their daily lives. Taking a sometimes esoteric field like "literature" or "writing" and trying to convince them that it's "relevant" to their lives still reinforces the notion that it's separate - relevant to it, but not a part of it. Philosophically, I'd rather them see that the material is already part of their lives, and not just relevant to it. I'm not satisfied to make two things similar or related - I'd rather students see them as simultaneous and intertwined.
Emily,
Yes! Students rarely value or generalize skills and lessons taught in isolation. As students make connections between new information and life connections, they being the process of generalization, which is a must if we are to inspire self-directed, life-long learners.
Lisa Matthews
Dr. Meers,
One of the strategies I use is called think-pair-share and I mix it with socratic questioning so that I generate the most student engagement and avoid the same few students who like answer my question.
Step one: Ask the question.
Step two: Allow students to self-select a partner or you assign a partner.
Step three: The partners discuss the question between them
Step four: The question is now ready for larger group discussion
I find that using this technique increases student engagement and generates deeper discourse.
Lisa Matthews
I plan on using each of the learning styles during every class period, if possible. Since there is a lot of material to cover, I will have to spend much of the time lecturing, but I hope to break it up into 15-minute sections with other sorts of activities, like problem-solving.
One thing in my physics/engineering course that would be helpful would be to, for instance, pass around various samples of fasteners (for instance) during the chapter on fastening techniques or samples of different materials and how "bendy" they are when studying the chapter on Hooke's Law. This idea I got from someone in one of these forums.
always match content to need this way a student can relate to why and HOW they interact with a demo for a practical real life experience
Hi Chan,
I am big on demos as well. Personally I really like ice carving and have attended a number of shows ranging from Alaska to Florida. Each time I am amazed at the artistic ability of folks like you.
Gary
I try to use ingredients and recipes that the students will encounter frequently in their careers.
In my class I do many demos. Students love demo.
they like watch me and I explain them what they going to do. It work well. We have good time. I show them ice carving. They be very excited. Keep them interested.