I have a little problem that I haven't solved yet. My class begins at 6:00 pm and ends at 10:00 pm. Most students are coming from full-time work and have to eat. I want to say don't eat in class, but then I know if they go to the lounge, they'll be missing the first 15-20 min. of class. What do others do in this situation? Also this is rush hour, and you never know what the weather and traffic will be like. I'm planning to say no eating in class next quarter, but if they don't eat, they'll definitely be falling asleep.
To keep the student's interest and attention focused. It is easy to become distracted and begin thinking about the rest of your life or what other responsibilities you have to do other than be in a class if you lose this focus. So, it is very important the instructor is not so predictive in what they are doing, i.e. lecturing all the time.
I any given class, there are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners. The goal of education is to met the needs of all students for learning the course content, which requires a variety a instructional methods. Variety also decreases boredom.
Variety is key to covering all learning styles. Adult learners come from many various stages of life, some have not been in school in 20+yrs, some are right out of prior college lessons. So being flexible in delivery insures that you reach all levels of learning.
It is important to use various methods of delivery in order to touch upon the various learning styles and connect with as many students as possible to maximize and reinforce learning objectives.
Hi Dave,
The use of variety in your instructional delivery is important just as you have outlined. The mini-lecture format and then a discussion, Q&A session, etc. gives the students a mental break and helps to keep them engaged.
As for breaks this all depends on the flow of the class. I like several shorter breaks myself though I don't make a big deal of how and when the breaks will occur because once I do the students start to watch the clock as we get closer to the announced break time. This means I lose valuable class time as the students start the early shut down. What I do is sense the flow of the class and then give breaks when I can see they are needed. I also may give one longer break in the middle of the class if we have been doing a number of activities or working in small groups. When students move to small groups they get up and move their chairs and organize themselves. This takes a few minutes and is really like a mini-break, plus the discussions in the small groups is a break from the lecture. In summary as for breaks, I feel you need to read the class and then offer them as needed to keep the focus of the students so there is not set time or amount of breaks in terms of a formula but more of feel for the class.
Gary
I thought the fact that the adult attention span was 15 - 18 minutes was very important. I'll incorporate that into my next class. I'm an adjunct teaching a three hour evening class and I'll use the mini-lecture idea and then transition into other types of learning. One thing not mentioned was breaks. I must assume that several short breaks are preferential to one long break in the middle?
thanks,
Dave
Constantly using one delivery method can make the learning process dull and uneventful. Students will become bored and unattentive and will begin to tune out. Varying the delivery format will reawaken students to the learning environment.
Every student will come to the classroom with a different learning style that works best for them. As an instructor, if I only use one type of delivery method, I would not only become extremely boring to my students, I would also be delivering the content effectivley to a very small percentage of my class. In my courses (respiratory therapy) it is imperative that I use a combination of methods (lecture, lab, case studies, etc) because my students not only need to know the didactic element but they have to master how to deliver therapy, how to assemble equipment and how to assess patient situations. A variety of delivery methods is the only option for me.
I make sure that the activities and audio/visual are linked to the previous lecture to reinforce learing.
Offering a varied instructional delivery is very important due to the fact that each student brings their own means of learning to the classroom. If I don't mix it up I will miss giving proper instruction to different students. They are in the classroom for instruction and unless I bring different means of getting information across to them I lose them, that is not acceptable.
I have found that mixing up the delievery method of lecture, demonstration, and questions keeps the students interested and ingaged. Humor also work well to reach younger learners.
I am a huge advocate of working to meet the many learning demographics within the classroom. It is better served as an instructor to change things up often in order to keep things new for myself and the students I am interacting with daily
It is important to offer a variety of instructional delivery methods in classes to reach the majority of students. I have begun to interject video podcasts into my lectures. These can break up the delivery and are abundant.
I think it is important since students are easy to get tired. Different delivery methods may wake them up.
Each individual learns differently and it's important we set everyone up to suceed.
Not all students learn the same way, and not all material should be presented by the same method.
In a humanities class, the incorporation of visuals and student projects together with the project's presentation is appreciated by the students.
It is important to offer a variety of instructional delivery methods in classes because different methods of teaching work better in some situations than in others. Because learners have different learning styles or a combination of styles, instructors should design activities that address their modes of learning in order to provide learning experiences for each student.
There are different types of learners out there. It is important to give them all a chance to absorb the material. Offering a variety of learning methods means engaging more students and having a higher success rate.
