Each student learn differently and if you don't vary your instructional delivery a lot of your student will fall through the cracks. You will end up with a lot of dropouts.
Peggy,
Good point about the need to "read" your students and then adjust your instructional delivery to keep them engaged. Each class is different and as a result we need to be creative as we introduce our content to the current student population.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
By varying your delivery, you have a greater chance of imparting the most information to all of your students regardless of their particular learning style. It also gives you the chance to reinforce ideas in a repetitive fashion without losing student focus.
I have found that you also need to vary delivery methods according to a particular group. Some groups are more easily distracted than others, some groups are better at working in teams than others and some groups are more reserved and require more "down" or study time.
Richard,
You make a good point about changing the tempo of the class. Learners like variety and change of pace in instructional delivery and following your strategy this will happen. This lets the students "reset" their minds and stay engaged throughout the duration of the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Learning styles vary. In an effort to reach as many students as possible during instruction, one needs to vary their delivery. Switching delivery style also makes the learning process more interesting in both content and pace. A more "lively" class tends to engage students more effectively. Students often embrace a teaching style that mimics the 15-18 minute attention "window". When in doubt, change tempo!
Daniel,
Energy generates enthusiasm and passion. By bringing energy to the classroom we are showing our students our excitement about getting to teach them about our field. Energy is catching so we need to spread it to our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have found that any environment where energy in offered that you have a better chance at success. I have been in the tourism field, entertainment and teaching. Once your group knows your energy things seem to flow a bit better. I have observed "low energy" providers and the environment that the receivers are in are very sterile, robotic and non-responsive.
John,
Great approach. In addition, with this method you are appealing to the different learning preferences of your students and this helps to keep the focused on the content that is being delivered.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Varied instructionl delivery keeps the students interested in the material. By changing up the delivery every few minutes it brings a change to the students. In classes that are two hours long such as from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, it is important to constantly vary the approach to keep the interest of the students. Lecture, discussion, readings and group activities can all aid in improving classroom dynamics.
Mau,
Yes, it does make a lot of sense to use as many different instructional deliveries as is possible. This will keep the students engaged and the interest level high.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
each student is diffrent. they learn things at diferent speeds and in many ways. it only makes sense that the more styles you use to teach the more students you can reach.
Shellonda,
Thank you for sharing your teaching success. I am always excited to hear from new instructors that are finding success in the classroom. I wish you continued success as you impact the lives and futures of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I am a new instructor, and have tried to aproach my class confidently. I have noticed that the class seems to feed off of my energy and excitement for the trade and in turn, they are more excited and eager to learn. Thanks for the extra tips.
Yolanda,
This is such a good point to remember as we plan our lessons. We are trying to individualize instructor on a mass basis. This is a challenge but can be done through planning and effort. The result will be students that value the information that they are receiving and the direction you are taking them as an instructor.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The classroom is full of multiple learners from diverse and culturally linguistic backgrounds that may learn in various ways. Having multiple modalities of lesson integration into the classroom is helpful for the students.
Joan,
Very true and important to the learning process. By appealing to the different learning preferences of your students you are going to increase their engagement while expanding their content retention.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
One of the main reasons for offering a variety of instructional delivery methods is because not all people learn the same way. By offering a variety of delivery methods, you will be able to meet the needs of the variety of learning styles in your classroom. I believe another reason to vary delivery methods is to keep things interesting, and therefore, keep students engaged.
People learn in different ways so varying instructional delivery ensures you will speak to the student in the way they learn best. Also, variety keeps students interested longer.
Sonya,
You last sentence reminds me of a plaque I recall seeing in a school office. It said "To Teach is to Learn Twice, Once as a student and once as a teacher." This is what you are doing for your students as they learn the content as students and then go back and learn it again as they present it to their peers. The result is greatly enhanced retention of the content.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
In our program of study, we present the material via lecture. I then show videos. After that, there is a demonstation. Then the students are given the opportunity to practice hands on. As a final step, I like to assign teaching activities, where the students teach what they have learned.
