Hi Angela,
This is a great format to follow. Your students are getting variety and application as you move through the segments of course and this keeps them engaged and focused on learning.
Gary
I teach a 2.5 hour math course. I split the class into small 10 minute lectures covering a specific section or small chapter and I'm sure to inlcude one or two sample problems and then I break the class itno small groups to work through additional problems of the same type. This way they are able to work through them while the concept is fresh in their head. Otherwise at the end of class it would all be a jumble and they wouldn't have anything to refer to when they went to do their homework. I also find that breaking into small groups or asking someone to demostrate how they solved the problem, allows them to see the problem from a new angle or displays a different problem solving style that I may not have thought of at the time. It's amazing how much I learn from my students as well!
We all have different learning style by keeping things they same we dont allow for the other learning styles. Also, we dont allow for our students to adapt to other learning styles
This keeps the student alert and listening. If they are alert and listening they might find it interesting and learn and retain more material. The students may feel more comfortle speaking up in class.
Hi Dorothy,
The delay is fine because I understand that you many responsibilities that take time and concentration. I appreciate your interest in instructional improvement and how all of us can be more efficient and effective in our course delivery. As you plan your lectures around the 10-15 minute time frame keep in mind that you don't have to stop the flow of the class but introduce some variety in the process. You mentioned that you do a lot of Q&A in your classes. This is a good way to keep the students focused on course content, then variety through discussion and then back to the lecture. This little changes really help to keep students engaged. I wish you the very best in your teaching efforts.
Gary
I'm sorry I've been a bit lax in responding -- I have to take these modules when I can sneak a few minutes from my job and other responsibilities.
What I'd like to do is do better at varying my styles of delivery -- I do more lecturing than it seems is the best idea; or rather, I lecture longer than seems to be optimum. We do a lot of question-answer-class participation during the lecture times, but still, I think that trying to go 10-15 minutes, then do a group activity, lecture, then an individual writing exercise, etc., might be better. I'm going to try that with my next class and see how it works.
Using various teaching methods helps to keep our students motivated and engaged in their learning. Students have different learning styles and delivering content in various ways helps to reach our students better than just using the method that we prefer.
I think it's important to vary instructional delivery methods because it provides the different types of learning experiences for all students. As we all know, everyone learns differently.
Not only does having a variety of instructional delivery keep the students engaged it keeps the teacher engaged as well. If a teacher is always looking for new material and a variety of ways to present it they will stay fresh and interested themselves.
My instructional delivery needs to be consistent with the setting & needs of the students.
Different subject areas require different teaching styles.
Students will loose interest quickly if one only lectures. One needs to break course content down into learnable bytes to increase overall retention and understanding of any course material
I agree.I incorporate an array of teaching stategies in my lecture in order to reach all learning styles.
I think it's important for the obvious reasons: that students learn in different ways. I also think it's important because it keeps the class interesting, and because if you are varying the delivery, students feel that they are getting more information presented.
Some students are very aware of their learning styles, so they will look to have information presented a certain way. Others don't have any idea what their prefered learning style is, but they will be aware that they are getting more out of a class when the information is presented in different ways.
In addition to using visual delivery (Power Points, hand outs, etc.), I use some lecture (I was a theater major, so I'm comfortable being enthusiastic and entertaining. I also use auditory methods (sound clips), small group activities, and problem solving in my classes regardless of the subject I'm teaching.
Different learners learn different ways. A number of different learning trait theories have addressed this through differing theory bases, but in general, the method which reaches student A the best will not be the same that reaches student B the best.
It is important to offer a variety of instructional delivery methods in class to ensure that all learning syles are met. It is also important (in a class like mine that is 4.5 hours in length) to keep things moving and changing to ensure that you have a student's attention.
If you are an instructor in a room with 60 adults, you want to impact your point to all of them. By giving a viriety of instructional methods you are able to prsent the information the way each student will understand it.
So that all the students can learn through the various leaning styles and not miss out.
Varied Instructional Delivery is important or we, as teachers, get boring! Or do I just share the attention span that my students have?
I believe it is important to use a variety of instructional methods because by doing so you will be addressing all the different learners in the classroom and their learning can be much more efficient.
Hi Chris,
Great way to meet the needs of your students. What are some of the successes you have had in offering your instruction is the different learning style areas?
Gary
