Having students engage in demos can be a great way to enforce learning. It also keeps things more interesting when participating, or seeing a classmate participate as oppossed to watching a teacher all the time.
I have to engage them by class interaction, small group with case study will also help the class to be engaged. I will enclude pictures, diagrams and personal experience stories into the discussion.
Sometimes having the students teach a portion of the material (depending on the course area) helps them learn the information and gives them a little more enthusiasm for it.
I work in a vocational school teaching Phlebotomy. This kind of course, I think, is perfect for this. I am teaching a skill and associated information. So having the equipment for the student to manipulate during mini-lectures works well. Also role playing gives experience to the student.
Dina
I try to cover each of the learning styles as I teach through each concept needed to complete the class. Examples below:
Written Word - Knowledge is acquired best through the written word. Reading is the preferred way of gaining knowledge. (READ YOUR CHAPTER and ARTICLES)
Auditory - Listening to presented information and retaining the major portion of what has been heard.
Visualization - Seeing pictures, diagrams, and illustrations enables the learner to grasp the concepts being presented.
Tactile - Involves touch and manipulative activities. Requires eye-hand-body coordination.
Thank You Doctor Meers. I forgot to mention that many of the students have never worked in a 'team' environment. The career path they have selected requires a very tight and nearly instinctive team interaction regardless of personalities. This method allows for continuous interactions with other teammates and provides evaluation and counseling opportunities on this aspect by the instructor (and to a certain extent by the student supervisor) not otherwise available.
Hi James,
I think this is a very effective way of developing skills in students in the areas of technical competence as well as social interaction. Both the skill specific competencies must be there as well as the soft skills needed to be a good worker. The rotation of the positions gives each student an opportunity to develop and refine these needed skills.
Gary
Hi Charles,
Thank you for the sharing these words of wisdom from many years past. Teaching is still communication on an understandable level between human beings. We need always to remember that as we enter the classroom each time.
Gary
In several of my practical training modules I break the students up into teams of approximately 10 students, and designate a one student as the "Supervisor". I give that student the lesson plan for the day's exercise. The Supervisor is then responsible for the safety briefings, outline and limits of the exercise, demonstrations, student assignments and activities, critiques (always positive. I do not allow negative critiques), recovery & cleanup, and summary. As progress is made through all the practical modules, all students get to rotate through each of the team positions. At the end of each day, I provide a summary of the days work and restate the goals of the module(s). By changing their duty positions and responsibilities each day, the students seem to be more motivated and more attentive.
Capturing the interest of students is perhaps the key to capturing their attention. That is achieved most assuredly when an instructor gives life to the subject matter by relating it to real world situations.
Please do not be surprised if this sounds similar to the philosophy expressed in the image of Plato's cave. My statement was meant to focus on the point that teachers should bring life to where the boredom of life exists and to give light to the realities of life. Engaging students is not difficult if we as teachers do not bore them to death but rather bring excitement back into their lives.
Thank you! I will certainly try to pause every 15-20 minutes and either review or ask for any questions (or pause for BINGO). Thanks again for your help.
Hi Jodi,
The mini-lecture format is based upon the flow of the material. The ideas is to present a concept along with supporting information and then pause with an activity to reinforce what has been learned. This could be a small group activity, Q&A session, or any other form of change of pace. Then you can go into your next section. The human brain needs a change of pace to stay engaged and by changing the flow every 15-20 minutes you are helping the students to reset their brains. You don't have to take a break or disrupt the class with these mini-lecture breaks. Keep on topic just change the presentation format to keep their interest.
Gary
I like the idea of mini-lectures, but I am concerned that I have such a large amount of material packed into a very short time, and I do not want to short my students by only "summarizing" the material. Any hints on how to avoid this??
I will show a demonstration of the objective needed. The students have notes that have them fill in the blanks as I go through the problem. They are actively watching and writing as they hear me discuss the algorithm. While demonstrating I have tried to interject interesting historical data which will help them remember the concept. For example: Irrational numbers cause one student in the Pythagorus school to be sentenced to death for suggesting that irrational numbers existed. After an explaination and demonstration, I have a quick concept check (specific problems to work independently) to make sure all students have understood the concept. We then discuss the common pitfalls to the algorithm. This keeps the class engaged and actively learning.
Integration of group projects to apply content causing active initiation and participation.
I like to use different methods for student learning. Some lecture, some group projects, lots of discussion. I work to engage students in several learning methods to keep them engaged and excited. Positive buzz from students about a recent class is great motivation for me to keeptrying new things!
I have the students practice the diagrams and tables that i draw up to simplify the materials taught; this keeps them involved in the subject and also prevents them from becoming bored with the topic.
Hi Jim,
I like your approach. The application aspects of what you are teaching is critical and your approach informs and then helps students to apply this new information. This is what makes learning exciting as well as being retained.
Gary
Hi Dianna,
Good way to keep the students interested throughout a long class session. I teach in 6 hour blocks so I know where you are coming from. It is a challenge to keep the energy up while changing the class pace in order to keep the students engaged and focused during the entire time.
Gary
I agree that the mini-lectures are effective. I try to have a mini-lecture available to present in each class and couple it with an activity relative to the lecture topic.
