Change it up!
One of the most important things to keep in mind when planning a lesson is to address different learning styles. Every student learns in a different manner. Using a variety of teaching modes not only allows all students to fully grasp concepts, it also helps to keep students involved and focused on learning.
Hi Brenda,
These are great ideas on how to incorporate what can be boring content into dynamic student engaging content. I commend you for being flexible and willing to try new approaches to instructional delivery.
Gary
I teach medical law & ethics, at first I noticed the students were bored . I was disappointed that the students would pre-judge the course as BORING!!
What I did to change the out come and grab their intrest I would have them research a medical malpractice case .
Each student would present his/her research case and together as a class they would decide which case they would to present.
I would appoint a judge,district attorney, defense lawyer,media,victims,expert witness, jury etc... They loved it!!! Every class we add more to the content and now we even video tape it. I give them the freedom to present their case and according to presentation the jury make their verdict. Then after the trial we have a class discussion .
I love the challenge of finding new ways to change up learning in our classroom! Using live and archived lectures (auditory) with PowerPoint presentations (visual) and making the PPT available for our tactile learners to type in notes while listening to the lectures are just a few ideas. I also tell students about the availability of podcasts of course materials as this is a terrific resource.
Yes, it not only addresses different learning styles, but mixing it up keeps a class interesting and fresh for the students and the instructor!
Hi Katie,
Good point about the need to change the instructional delivery up on a regular basis. This is what keeps the students engaged and focused on the content.
Gary
We should always try to have different ways to teach. Just think of how we learned and how it took other ways to understand something.
