I know that I am NOT an auditory learner, so lectures are usually difficult for me to follow. I like it when there are a lot of visuals and demonstrations that I can tie to what the teacher is saying. Since I only have time to cover each topic once in class, I plan on having homework assignments that involve reading the next classes material beforehand so that class isn't the first time they have seen the material. I also plan to utilize class demonstrations and the online course content for our text in homework assignments to engage the more tactile learners.
Hi David,
Congratulations for being able to keep everything straight in your head. There aren't many outstanding instructors that can do that. For the rest of us that need to have things planned out and in order the use of lesson plans are a critical way of bringing order to the learning sequence.
I have over 300 students every 12 weeks so with this volume of students plus all the assignments, field trips, guest speakers and content having lesson plans really help me to be able to stay on target with my courses.
Gary
My lesson plans are in my head. Any instructor who doesn't know what they are talking about in any give class is pretty lame.
There are several ways that you can make your lectures more effective. One way is to break up the lecture into mini lectures. You can ask questions at the beginning to get the students attention, and throughout the lecture to see what they have been retaining. Another method would be to use power point presentations. Playing games,doing case studies, providing a demonstration are also methods that can be used to effectively reach your students during lecture periods.
When you are planning your lecutures be sure you get all your learners involved. Students fall in one of four learning styles, for your lectures to be effective you have to reach your students in their learning style at some time.
Don Wilson
Hi Rudy,
These are all great ideas for making your course content become real and relevant. Sounds like a fun course for both your students and yourself.
Gary
In my supply chain management courses I start the class with a question about how products get to the stores they frequent on a regular basis. This starts the discussion. Information from trade journals, newspaper,seminars, websites and experiences in my career are discussed.
Field trips to businesses in the industry give my students a chance to see what was discussed in the classroom and a look at the "real world" of logistics and transportation. Guest speakers in the industry relate their experiences and students ask questions.
Besides the knowledge, enthusiasum,and intrest in the subject, using different methods of teaching by the instructor such as auditory,visual,and hands on practical ways will help students more effectively in learning process.
Hi James,
Good strategy. You are going to like the results due to the increased student engagement.
Gary
Hi Marilyn,
Try them I promise you will like them. They change the flow of the class enough to keep the students engaged and focused throughout the class session.
Gary
Hi Taljmattie,
So true. The more they are involved the more they will be engaged. By offering variety you are helping them to become a part of the learning process.
Gary
I have been using power point, but i think my lectures run too long. I have been intermixing with hands on material
I love the idea of mini lectures. I am used to lecturing for 4 hours at a time and really need to keep the class motivated to keep going.
Marilyn
Lectures are more effective for students when they are interested or drawn into the material being taught. Providing visual aids, handouts with fill in the blanks about the topic being covered, flash card games and group work with participation of all members are helpful.
By allowing the students to give their feedback on the previous topics so you will be able to understand and prepare and deliver the next topics so students will be able to understand.
Hi Judy,
Good for you. Shorter lecture segments really make a difference in the learning of students. They can stay engaged and focused plus then they can make applications of the newly acquired content before they move to the next lecture segment.
Gary
I have always believed that lectures should be broken down into small sections. Students should have the opportunity to discuss, ask questions and offer their opinion over the material being covered.
Hi Betty,
I wish you much success with this effort. I will be interested to see if you do have enhanced learning as a result of this approach.
Gary
There is so much material to present in a 10 week period. I need to highlight the important topics, and rely more on the students to read the assigned pages in the textbook. To make sure the students have applied what they have read, I need to incorporate more short quizes.
Otherwise I feel like I am overwhelming the students with too much information. I will try this at the beginning of the next course, and evaluate if there is an improvement in retention of the information.
Make them brief to keep the students attention but relay valuable information.
Asking questions after every section to make sure everyone gets it. I also like to use alot of Power Points with lots of graphics that students can remember.
